title: Comparative studies of the diagnostic value of cerebrospinal fluid spectrophotometry and computed tomographic scanning in subarachnoid hemorrhage.
abstract: Serial spectrophotometric scans of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and computed tomographic (CT) scans of 99 patients with a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) were examined. The xanthochromic index (i.e., the sum of the absorption values at 416 nm (oxyhemoglobin) and 460 nm (bilirubin)) yielded an accurate diagnosis in 82%, as did the CT scan. When both spectrophotometric and CT scans were used, the accuracy of SAH diagnosis increased to 96%. The xanthochromic index was valuable in estimating the date of hemorrhage and also correlated well with the clinical outcome of these patients. Only 42% of the recurrent hemorrhages were diagnosed by CSF spectrophotometry; in this capacity, its role seems less clear. However, a positive diagnosis of recurrent hemorrhage by CT scan was made in 83%.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001663:Bilirubin / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010108:Oxyhemoglobins / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D010108:Oxyhemoglobins; D001663:Bilirubin