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Blood Patch

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neurology-
2K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  rasheed 
#1 ·
Kaplan Internal Medicine Notes says that if a patient suffers headache following a LP, it should be treated with blood patch. I can't really understand what is a blood patch and how this is applied?
 
#2 ·
Epidural Blood Patch

This is called epidural blood patch.

What they do is actually withdrawing blood from the patient by a needle then inject that blood into the epidural space (via spinal needle) at the same site where lumpar puncture was done before.

The idea is that the blood will clot and seal off the the holes in the dura that has been causing the CSF leak and its consequent post-LP headache.

The headache after spinal tap sometimes goes really troublesome for patients and it may stay for weeks and months and the CSF leak is the presumed mechanism of it.
 
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