title: The ameliorating effect of lumbar puncture in viral meningitis.
abstract: To test the hypothesis that lumbar puncture in viral meningitis results in symptomatic improvement, a group of 48 children was studied. Twenty-six patients had proved aseptic meningitis, and 22 had infections outside the central nervous system. Before and after lumbar puncture each subject was repeatedly scored for symptoms independently by the attending pediatrician and a parent. Marked symptomatic improvement in children with meningitis was demonstrated following lumbar puncture, while no significant change was demonstrated in the control group. The mechanism underlying this improvement is not clear; however, we consider a number of possible explanations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Haifa Medical Center, Israel.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jaffe
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Srugo
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tirosh
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Colin
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tal
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007427:Intracranial Pressure; D008297:Male; D008587:Meningitis, Viral / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000628:therapy*; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013129:Spinal Puncture; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires