Normally, there are no RBCs in the cerebrospinal fluid Traumatic lumbar tap: Occurs in 20% of lumbar punctures Differentiated from haemorrhagic causes by a falling RBC count across three bottles counted in order of collection Subarachnoid haemorrhage Intracerebral...
Normal range in an adult is 0.2 – 0.4 g/L May be falsely elevated following a traumatic tap: Can be corrected by subtracting 10mg/L for every 1000 RBCs/mm3 Correction is only accurate if the same tube is used for the protein and cell...
Can be due to caused due to Utilisation by pathogenic organisms Utilisation by host cells Impaired CSF glucose transport through the blood-brain barrier Conditions where low CSF glucose arises include: Infective conditions Bacterial infections: low...
Xanthochromia is a yellow, orange, or pink discoloration of the CSF Due to the breakdown products of haemoglobin (bilirubin) following lysis of red cells Begins after RBCs have been in CSF for about two hours and can remain for up to 2-4 weeks Ultraviolet light can...
