Lumbar punctures in the paediatric emergency medicine department at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital: An evaluation

Background: Lumbar punctures (LPs) are frequently performed in the paediatric medical emergency unit (MEU) department to diagnose or exclude meningitis. Unsuccessful lumbar punctures (LPs) cause diagnostic uncertainty which may prolong hospital stay and result in unnecessary antibiotic treatment and increased costs to the hospital and patients. It is important to determine factors that may be effective in reducing unsuccessful LPs. There is a paucity of studies on this topic from sub-Saharan Africa. Previous studies have shown inconsistent results and the use of sedation has not previously been studied. Aims: To determine the prevalence of unsuccessful lumbar punctures(LPs) and the factors influencing this in the medical emergency unit (MEU) and short stay ward (SSW) at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Cape Town.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Paediatrics and Child Health

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Procter, Claire

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Buys, Heloise
• Thomas, Jenny

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/20854

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/20854