Talk:Lumbar puncture
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How long do the headaches last after a spinal tap has been done?
- Hours to days, depending on the speed by which the CSF was drained. Some people keep on "seeping" CSF into their epidural space; they sometimes require a "blood patch" to stop this; the headaches resolve almost instantly. JFW | T@lk 07:41, 7 Feb 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Complication of LP
The article says, 'Some authorities believe that withdrawal of fluid when initial pressures are too low could result in spinal cord compression or cerebral herniation...' Cerebral herniation is accepted in standard texts as a well known complication of raised intracranial pressure which may occur with space occupying lesions in the brain. If what the article claims is well researched, it should be presented as an adjunct to this fact which surprisingly doesn't find a mention.
- I'm the author of the text you quoted. I can't tell whether your criticism is because you think it's obvious that LP can cause cerebral herniation, or because you think it's obvious that LP could never cause cerebral herniation and that it must always be due to the presence of space-occupying lesions in the brain and never due to LP. -Ikkyu2 02:58, 30 December 2005 (UTC)
- Oh, I see what your deal is. It's not whether the LP is causative, but the phrase "initial pressures too low." The idea is that in obstructive hydrocephalus the spinal pressure is significantly lower than the above-obstruction pressures, and that lowering it further can worsen the pressure gradient and cause herniation. Not everyone believes this, and even the 'too low' measured pressure is usually higher than normal in this model. I will modify the statement to weasel around this and please everyone, regardless of their interpretation of the Monroe-Kellie doctrine. -Ikkyu2 03:02, 30 December 2005 (UTC)
Why is it that this article is completely devoid of any acknowledgment of the risks of shift? That is to say, the dangers of someone having a suspected space-occupying lesion in the brain prior to the tap, which can then cause the brain to "shift" into the growth causing fatal complications. - April 4 2006
[edit] Trivia?
Since one can never be sure of the reasons that a reader might be searching for this article, I wonder if it might be worthwhile to include a mention of the urban myth that spinal taps are "routinely" performed to determine if someone has used LSD. Perhaps a brief mention in a newly added "Trivia" section would be in order. - Ugliness Man 11:24, 23 February 2006 (UTC)
