Post‐dural puncture headache—a single‐centre analysis in paediatric patients with and without SMA

Abstract

Lumbar puncture (LP) is one of the most common invasive procedures. It is performed as a diagnostic intervention to collect cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), to measure CSF opening pressure or to administer radiopaque dye in myelography, but also serves as a possibility to deliver intrathecal drugs. Furthermore, with about 1 in 100 interventions, LP is a common complication in epidural anaesthesia. 1 The frequency of post-dural puncture headache (PDPH) is estimated to be around 1% to 40%, making it the most frequent side effect of lumbar punctures. 2 When differentiated by intervention, incidence of PDPH varies from less than 10% after spinal anaesthesia 3,4 to 36%