Incidence and risk factors of postdural puncture headache: prospective cohort study design

Abstract

One hundred fifty eligible study participants were included in our study, of which 28.7% had developed postdural puncture headache. This study found that needle size, number of cerebrospinal fluid drops, and multiple attempts were significant independent predictors of postdural puncture headache (p < 0.05). In addition, twenty-five needles were identified as the strongest preoperative independent predictor of postdural puncture headache (AOR = 4.150, CI = 1.433-12.021) CONCLUSIONS: A recent study revealed that a small spinal needle was much better than a large cutting spinal needle regarding the frequency of postdural puncture headache. In addition, frequent attempts during lumbar puncture and increased cerebrospinal fluid leakage were associated with the events. In view of this, we recommend the use of a small spinal needle to avoid more leakage of cerebrospinal fluid and multiple attempts at spinal anesthesia and lumbar puncture.