Incidence of post-dural puncture headache with 25-gauge Quincke spinal needle

A retrospective study was undertaken in patients who received spinal anesthesia in past two years in order to find out the incidence of post-spinal headache. There were 3729 cases, 1997 males and 1732 females. Seventy-two patients were noted to have post-spinal headache of whom twelve were male and sixty were female. The overall incidence was 1.93%. Incidence was 0.6% and 3.5% in male and female groups respectively. With respect to the type of surgical procedures in female group, patients undergoing Cesarean section had a higher incidence than those who received other surgical procedures, being 4.8% and 1.5% respectively. In conclusion, female patients were noted to have higher incidence of post-spinal headache, particularly in patients undergoing Cesarean section.