Lumbar Puncture Report for Patients Like You

What is Lumbar Puncture?

An example of Lumbar Puncture

A lumbar puncture, also known as a spinal tap, is a diagnostic and at times therapeutic procedure that is performed in order to collect a sample of cerebrospinal fluid for analysis, or occasionally as a treatment to relieve increased intracranial pressure.

Reported Purpose & Perceived Effectiveness

Reasons and Perceived effectiveness
			Perceived Effectiveness
Purpose	# of patients	# of patients with evaluations	Major	Moderate	Slight	None	Can’t tell
Diagnostic assessment	91	19
Increase effect of another treatment	64	12
MS (Multiple Sclerosis)	17	1
Stiffness/Spasticity	8	2
Nerve pain (neuralgia)	6	1
Pain	2	0

See all 19 reasons taken ▼

See all 241 patients currently having Lumbar Puncture

Mouse over the table for more information

Reported Side Effects

Side effects as an overall problem

Severe	26
Moderate	14
Mild	6
None	11

Commonly reported side effects, conditions, and hospitalizations associated with Lumbar Puncture

See all 19 reported side effects ▼ See top 6 reported side effects ▲
Hospitalization	27	27
Migraine headaches	19	19
Back pain	7	7
Very bruised, sore and stiff for a week after	6	6
Spinal headaches	4	4
Neck ache	4	4
Had to have a Blood Patch Epidural	3	3
Headaches	3	3
Had to be hospitalized and have a caffeine IV	2	2
Spasms in back	2	2
Pain	1	1
Pain in lower back	1	1
Neck pain	1	1
Pain in back of head	1	1
Pain in mid-back	1	1
Pressure headaches	1	1
Spinal tap headache	1	1
Migraine	1	1
Ringing in ears (tinnitus)	1	1

Reported Adherence, Burden & Cost See details from patient evaluations ▼

Adherence

Taking treatment as prescribed

Adherence of Lumbar Puncture

Always	47	82%
Usually	0	0%
Sometimes	3	5%
Never	7	12%

Burden

Difficulty being on treatment

Burden of Lumbar Puncture

Very	21	37%
Somewhat	19	33%
A little	7	12%
Not at all	10	18%

Cost

Paid out of pocket

Cost of Lumbar Puncture

$200+	6	29%
$100-199	0	0%
$50-99	0	0%
$25-49	3	14%
< $25	12	57%

Patient Evaluations

sista

Sex: F

Data Quality: 2 stars

Sensation: Moderate

Overall: Moderate

Cognition: moderate

Vision: moderate

Speech: moderate

Swallowing: moderate

Upper limb: moderate

Walking: moderate

I have:
MS
sista

as needed

since Mar 12, 2010
Perceived effectiveness None for Stiffness/Spasticity
Side Effects Moderate
Advice/Tips got a headache See full evaluation

tmk2300

Sex: M

Data Quality: 0 stars

Sensation: Moderate

Overall: None

Cognition: mild

Vision: mild

Speech: none

Swallowing: none

Upper limb: mild

Walking: none

I have:
MS
tmk2300

since Jun 17, 2009
Perceived effectiveness Major for Diagnostic assessment
Side Effects Mild
Advice/Tips It requires a full day of not getting up, which sucks! See full evaluation

tiggermomma

Sex: F

Data Quality: 2 stars

Sensation: Moderate

Overall: Moderate

Cognition: moderate

Vision: moderate

Speech: moderate

Swallowing: moderate

Upper limb: moderate

Walking: moderate

I am: g

I have:
MS
tiggermomma

since May 12, 2009
Perceived effectiveness None for Vision
Side Effects Mild
Advice/Tips It helps with the diagnosing Multiple Sclerosis so you can start treatment See full evaluation

**Purpose:** Stiffness/Spasticity *(Started Nov 15, 1999)*
Date	Dosage	Perceived effectiveness	Side Effects	Adherence	Burden
Mar 12, 2010	As needed	None	Moderate	Always	Very
Jan 15, 2010	As needed	Major	Moderate	Always	Somewhat
Dec 12, 2009	As needed	None	Mild	Usually	A little
Nov 13, 2009	As needed	Moderate	Mild	Usually	Somewhat
Oct 12, 2009	As needed	Major	Mild	Always	Somewhat
Sep 17, 2009	As needed	Major	Moderate	Always	Very
Aug 21, 2009	As needed	Moderate	Mild	Usually	Very
Jun 26, 2009	As needed	Major	Moderate	Sometimes	Very
May 12, 2009	As needed	Slight	Mild	Usually	Very

Purpose: Stiffness/Spasticity (Started Nov 15, 1999)

Date

Dosage

Perceived effectiveness

Side Effects

Adherence

Burden

Mar 12, 2010

As needed