How to perform a Lumbar Puncture
The first reports of a lumbar puncture (LP) being undertaken are from the late 19th century [1]. Heinrich Irenaeus Quince (with whom the Lumbar Puncture is commonly associated with) reported to the tenth congress of Internal Medicine in April 1891 that he had performed in one case 3 lumbar punctu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Health and Social Sciences Research Institute - South Sudan (HSSRI-SS)
2016-11-01
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| Series: | South Sudan Medical Journal |
| Online Access: | http://www.southsudanmedicaljournal.com/archive/november-2016/how-to-perform-a-lumbar-puncture.html |
| Summary: | The first reports of a lumbar puncture (LP) being undertaken are from the late 19th century [1]. Heinrich Irenaeus Quince (with whom the Lumbar Puncture is commonly associated with) reported to the tenth congress of Internal Medicine in April 1891 that he had performed in one case 3 lumbar punctures in a patient with suspected tuberculous meningitis who was comatose [1,2]. The procedures were done at 3 day intervals and the patient recovered. The other case was in a patient that had chronic hydrocephalus and suffered headaches. Lumbar puncture in this patient relieved the symptoms. One month after Quincke’s report to the congress, Walter Essex Wynter, a Registrar at the time, published in the Lancet 4 cases of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) aspiration in patients with meningitis suspected [3]. The Lumbar Puncture was a procedure dedicated to the relief of symptoms (at that time mainly meningitis or raised intracranial pressure) [4]. It has subsequently become a procedure that can be diagnostic or therapeutic, and the technique has become more refined with improved instruments, awareness of aseptic techniques and the increased availability and knowledge of anaesthesia. |
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| ISSN: | 2309-4605 2309-4613 |