Question

Lester Lancour is a 2-year-old male patient who has had a high fever for more than 72 hours. Dr. Adams is certain that the child has meningitis. He has ordered a lumbar puncture in order to determine if the problem is viral or bacterial. Dr. Adam's order indicates that he wants an identification of the white blood cells (differential) that may be present in the CSF. What is a lumbar puncture and how is it performed? Discuss the diagnostic significance of elevated white blood cells in CSF. List the diseases that can be identified by an elevated white blood cell count.

Answer 1

1.Lumbar puncture is also known as spinal tap is a medical procedure in which a needle is inserted in to the spinal canal to collect cerebrospinal fluid.

Procedure

The patient is typically lying down on their side for the procedure.after local anaesthesia is injected in to the lumbar area of the back.A long needle is inserted between third and 4tb lumbar vertebrae,then CSF removed for testing.

High WBC count indicates infection, bleeding or inflammation.

The diseases that can be identified by an elevated WBC level are intra cranial hemorrhage,meningitis,tumour,abscess ,multiple sclerosis etc.