Iatrogenic spinal hematoma as a complication of lumbar puncture: What is the risk and best management plan?

CONCLUSIONS: We found a significant correlation between preexisting coagulopathy and poor neurological outcome irrespective of intervention. However, outcomes for these patients may be confounded by comorbidities including underlying conditions contributing to their coagulopathy. No significant correlation between type of surgical intervention and good outcome was found, possibly attributable to the paucity of details in existing case reports and the difficulty defining the degree of spinal cord compromise from a given lesion. Despite our findings, emergent neurosurgical intervention may be beneficial for the management of complications such as cauda equina syndrome secondary to intrathecal spinal hematoma. PMID: 27625895 [PubMed]
Source: Surgical Neurology International - Category: Neurosurgery Tags: Surg Neurol Int Source Type: research