Spontaneous low pressure headache - a review and illustrative patient.
Low pressure headache typically occurs as a complication of dural puncture. "Spontaneous" low pressure headache is a relatively rare but under-recognised cause of intractable headache. Clinical suspicion of this condition warrants imaging of the brain to confirm the diagnosis; spinal imaging may be needed to identify the site of the leak. Epidural blood patching may be necessary to seal the leak - CT fluoroscopy may be helpful in delivering the patch directly to the site of the leak. Surgical intervention may be required in intractable cases. We describe a patient with spontaneous intracranial hypotension and review the clinical and radiological features of this syndrome.
Department of Neurology, The St. George Hospital, Belgrave Street, Kogarah, New South Wales 2217, Australia.
Rajat
R
Lahoria
Louise
L
Allport
Derek
D
Glenn
Lynette
L
Masters
Ron
R
Shnier
Mark
M
Davies
Mark
M
Hersch
D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D019585:Intracranial Hypotension / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009213:Myography; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000503:physiopathology