Conus medullaris termination: Assessing safety of spinal anesthesia in the L2-L3 interspace.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Classic teaching is that spinal anesthesia is safe at or below the L2-L3 interspace. To evaluate this, we sought to determine the percentage of individuals with a conus medullaris termination (CMT) level at or below the L1-L2 interspace. Further, the relationship of CMT level to age, sex, body mass index (BMI), and spinal pathology was examined, as was the reliability of using Tuffier's line (TL) as an anatomical landmark.

Methods

This retrospective study evaluated magnetic resonance images of 944 adult patients to determine the CMT level. The relationship between age, sex, height, BMI, and spinal pathology and CMT level was explored by logistic regression. The correspondence of the TL line to the L4-L5 interspace and the presence of overlap with the CMT were exam

SUBMITTER: Paul JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11780305 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature