<prompt> Epidural anaesthesia is preferred over spinal anaesthesia because: September 2006Prolonged duration of effectCheaperLess incidence of intravascular injectionLess incidence of epidural hematoma  <response>: Ans. A: Prolonged duration of effect Epidural anaesthesia, a form of regional anaesthesia involving injection of drugs through a catheter placed into the epidural space. The injection can cause both a loss of sensation anaesthesia and a loss of pain analgesia, by blocking the transmission of signals through nerves in or near the spinal cord The anaesthetist may use epidural analgesia in addition to general anaesthesia. This may reduce the patients requirement for opioid analgesics. This is suitable for a wide variety of surgery, for example gynaecological surgery e.g. hysterectomy, ohopaedic surgery e.g. hip replacement, general surgery e.g. laparotomy and vascular surgery e.g. open aoic aneurysm repair which are longer duration surgeries. Other features of epidural anaesthesia: Expensive compared to spinal anaesthesia More incidence of intravascular injection epidural space has venous plexus of Batson More incidence of epidural hematoma Level of block can be changed by increasing the dose through the catheter 