Postlumbar Puncture Headache Syndrome

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a study on acute and chronic pain related to postlumbar puncture headache syndrome. The symptoms of the postlumbar puncture headache (PLPH) syndrome are positional, beginning in the upright posture and subsiding or improving when the patient reclines. Sometimes symptoms of PLPH occur spontaneously without a detectable dural defect. In these instances, suggested causes include a hyperactive resorption of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) or a spontaneous mechanical dural hole. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in patients with intracranial hypotension—either after LP or spontaneously—show meningeal enhancement, subdural effusions, and downward brain displ…