Headache, Meningitis, Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Conditions
Keywords
lumbar puncture, headache, traumatic tap
Brief summary
Does the use of ultrasound facilitate a lumbar puncture by reducing the number of difficult and traumatic lumbar punctures?
Detailed description
This is a controlled trial randomizing lumbar puncture patients to groups utilizing ultrasound to preview the bony structures of the spine versus using standard palpation technique. The goal is to determine the helpfulness of ultrasound in performing lumbar punctures (to reduce difficult and traumatic lumbar punctures) among patients whose spines cannot be easily visualized.
Interventions
DEVICEUltrasound
Ultrasound used to visualize spine to determine best location for lumbar puncture.
Sponsors
St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
DIAGNOSTIC
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Age greater than 18 * Clinical need for lumbar puncture * Unable to visualize spine in position for the lumbar puncture
Exclusion criteria
* Able to visualize the spinous processes
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 3 or more needle sticks to successfully complete lumbar puncture | We collect the data immediately |
| Greater than 400 red blood cells in the cerebral spinal fluid | Data is obtained within 1 hour when the lab reports the results of the CSF analysis |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed