Lumbar Puncture Guideline for You to Copy and Use
I’ve written my own guideline for doing Lumbar Puncture for my own hospital. This should reflect best practice. You can copy this for your own hospital, and adapt it where necessary. Please remember to quote your source - it is copyrighted, but available for free so long […]
A calm environment
A trained nurse to assist
Careful explanation to patient of what to expect
Spend time on positioning the patient properly
Make sure you achieve cutaneous anaesthesia
Remember the 6 layers from skin to CSF
Loosen manometer tap and connect to manometer guage before you insert needle
Collect adequate specimens (2mls per bottle - 8mls is only 1.6% of total […]
The successful Lumbar Puncture……Key points
A calm environment
A trained nurse to assist
Careful explanation to patient of what to expect
Spend time on positioning the patient properly
Make sure you achieve cutaneous anaesthesia
Remember the 6 layers from skin to CSF
Loosen manometer tap and connect to manometer guage before you insert needle
Collect adequate specimens (2mls per bottle)
Be confident - if […]
The perfectionists will argue that an LP should always be attempted with your patient lying on their side. There are some situations where this is unavoidable - a comatose patient, someone in whom opening pressure needs measured. However, an LP is easier to perform with the patient seated - it is much easier to appreciate […]