Differentiating the headache of cerebral venous thrombosis from post-dural puncture: A headache for anaesthesiologists

Effect of reinsertion of the spinal needle stylet after spinal anaesthesia procedure on post dural puncture headache in women undergoing caesarean delivery

Background and Aims:

Post dural puncture headache (PDPH) following caesarean delivery (CD) is a cause for concern for anaesthesiologists. We aimed to study the effect of reinsertion of the stylet after spinal anaesthesia procedure, prior to spinal needle removal, on the incidence of PDPH in women undergoing CD. We also evaluated the risk factors associated with PDPH.

Methods:

In this randomised, double-blind study in a tertiary care hospital, 870 American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) II/III women undergoing CD under spinal anaesthesia were randomly divided into-GroupA (n = 435): stylet reinsertion before spinal needle removal and Group B (n = 435): spinal needle removal without stylet reinsertion. All patients were questioned for occurrence of PDPH at various time-points. Statistical calculations were done using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 17 version program for Windows.

Results:

Sixty-two (7.1%) patients developed PDPH; 27 (6.2%) patients with stylet reinsertion and 35 (8.0%) patients in those with no stylet reinsertion; P = 0.389. The onset of headache was significantly delayed in patients with stylet reinsertion (16.2 ± 6.7 and 13.2 ± 4.3 h, respectively); P = 0.041 and they had greater severity of PDPH compared with those with no stylet reinsertion; P = 0.002. Factors significantly associated with PDPH were hypothyroidism, tea habituation, number of skin punctures and needle redirections, first pass success rate, occurrence of paraesthesia and contact with bone, intraoperative hypotension and time to ambulation.

Conclusions:

Reinsertion of the stylet before spinal needle removal did not influence the incidence of PDPH. The onset of PDPH was delayed and the severity of headache was greater in women in whom reinsertion of the stylet was done.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: A Review

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT), also called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), is a cerebrovascular disease with diverse clinical manifestations that often affects young adults, women of childbearing age, and children. It's most common clinical manifestations are headache, seizures, altered consciousness, and neurological focal signs on physical examination. CVT can manifest as a single symptom, or it can present as a syndrome consisting of multiple symptoms. This non-specific clinical picture makes diagnosing CVT difficult. Although the mortality rate of CVT has been significantly reduced by improvements in treatment and diagnostic techniques, the mortality rate of severe CVT remains as high as 34.2%. Survivors of this type of CVT have varying degrees of residual symptoms and are not able to return to their previous work. Hence, we performed a comprehensive literature search in the PubMed, EMBASE, and Medline databases to review the diagnosis and treatment of CVT.