PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Mittl, R L
AU  - Yousem, D M
TI  - Frequency of unexplained meningeal enhancement in the brain after lumbar puncture.
DP  - 1994 Apr 01
TA  - American Journal of Neuroradiology
PG  - 633--638
VI  - 15
IP  - 4
4099  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/15/4/633.short
4100  - http://www.ajnr.org/content/15/4/633.full
SO  - Am. J. Neuroradiol.1994 Apr 01; 15
AB  - 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.