Abstract
PURPOSE To examine the hypothesis that lumbar puncture alone may cause meningeal enhancement in the brain.
METHODS We prospectively reviewed the brain MR examinations of all patients from a 6-month period who were studied within 1 month after lumbar puncture. We also retrospectively reviewed all cases of dural-arachnoidal enhancement in the brain from the preceding 18-month period.
RESULTS In the prospective group, only one case out of 97 enhanced brain MR examinations after lumbar puncture did not have a clear cause for dural-arachnoidal enhancement. In the retrospective group, only one case out of 11 with enhancement was not clearly explained.
CONCLUSIONS Dural-arachnoidal enhancement in the brain after lumbar puncture is uncommon, if it occurs at all, and lumbar puncture as a cause of enhancement should be considered a rare diagnosis of exclusion.
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