Fig. 3. Obstetric versus nonobstetric neuraxial anesthesia death or brain damage, 1980s and 1990s: primary damaging events. Other block/anesthesia-related events included high spinal/epidural block and regional block technique. Non–block-related events for obstetric (n = 27) and nonobstetric (n = 76) neuraxial anesthesia claims associated with death or brain damage included cardiovascular event (such as pulmonary/air/amniotic embolus, stroke, hypotension, myocardial infarction), n = 7 (obstetric) versus n = 29 (nonobstetric); respiratory event (such as inadequate ventilation, airway obstruction, bronchospasm, aspiration), n = 8 (obstetric) versus n = 27 (nonobstetric); wrong drug or dose, n = 2 (obstetric) versus n = 5 (nonobstetric); surgical event/error or patient condition, n = 6 (obstetric) versus n = 3 (nonobstetric); allergic reaction, n = 2 (obstetric) versus n = 3 (nonobstetric); and miscellaneous causes, n = 2 (obstetric) versus n = 9 (nonobstetric). * P ≤ 0.05.