Reducing post-lumbar puncture headaches with small bore atraumatic needles

J Clin Neurosci. 2014 Mar;21(3):536-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2013.07.001. Epub 2013 Oct 22.

Abstract

Lumbar puncture for testing of Alzheimer's disease pathophysiology for diagnostic confirmation is likely to become more common in the coming years. Minimizing adverse effects from this testing will be essential for clinical practice. Small bore, atraumatic needles reduce the occurrence of post-lumbar puncture headache (PLPH). Our goal was to extend this recommendation specifically to a well-characterized aging population. We assessed PLPH in the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative cohort and found that PLPH occurrence was reduced only when using a 24 gauge atraumatic needle. We recommend that lumbar punctures for clinical and research purposes in Alzheimer's disease be conducted with 24 gauge atraumatic needles.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s; Biomarkers; Dementia.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial
  • Multicenter Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Alzheimer Disease / cerebrospinal fluid
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Incidence
  • Male
  • Needles*
  • Post-Dural Puncture Headache / epidemiology
  • Post-Dural Puncture Headache / prevention & control*
  • Spinal Puncture / adverse effects*
  • Spinal Puncture / instrumentation*