Indications
The most common purpose for a lumbar puncture is to collect cerebrospinal fluid in a case of suspected meningitis, since there is no other reliable tool with which meningitis, a life-threatening but highly treatable condition, can be excluded. Young infants commonly require lumbar puncture as a part of the routine workup for fever without a source, as they have a much higher risk of meningitis than older persons and do not reliably show signs of meningeal irritation (meningismus). In any age group, subarachnoid hemorrhage, hydrocephalus, benign intracranial hypertension and many other diagnoses may be supported or excluded with this test.
Lumbar punctures may also be done to inject medications into the cerebrospinal fluid ("intrathecally"), particularly for spinal anesthesia or chemotherapy. It may also be used to detect the presence of malignant cells in the CSF, as in carcinomatous meningitis or medulloblastoma.
Read more about this topic: Lumbar Puncture
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