Cranial Computed Tomography Before Lumbar Puncture

Cranial computed tomography before lumbar puncture: a prospective clinical evaluation.

OBJECTIVE To prospectively identify which patients can safely undergo lumbar puncture (LP) without screening cranial computed tomography (CT). METHODS Emergency department physicians examined patients before CT. Examiners recorded the presence or absence of 10 clinical findings and answered 8 additional questions. The criterion standard was noncontrast cranial CT interpreted by staff radiolog...

Contraindications to lumbar puncture as defined by computed cranial tomography.

Papilloedema is not always an adequate predictor of potential complications from lumbar puncture, and many clinicians are using computed tomography (CT) before lumbar puncture in an effort to identify more accurately the "at risk" patient. This paper identifies the following anatomical criteria defined by CT scanning that correlate with unequal pressures between intracranial compartments and pr...

Is computed tomography of the head useful before lumbar puncture?

Routine cranial computed tomography before lumbar puncture in HIV-positive adults presenting with seizures at Mitchells Plain Hospital, Cape Town

Background Current international guidelines recommend that a cranial computed tomography (CT) be performed on all HIV-positive patients presenting with new onset seizures, before a lumbar puncture (LP) is performed. In the South African setting, however, this delay could be life threatening. The present study sought to measure the number of cranial CTs that contraindicate an LP and to predict w...

Computed tomography of the head before lumbar puncture in adults with suspected meningitis.

BACKGROUND In adults with suspected meningitis clinicians routinely order computed tomography (CT) of the head before performing a lumbar puncture. METHODS We prospectively studied 301 adults with suspected meningitis to determine whether clinical characteristics that were present before CT of the head was performed could be used to identify patients who were unlikely to have abnormalities on...