[Prevention of post-puncture complications by rotation of the puncture needle by 90 degrees]

We investigated whether the incidence of post-lumbar puncture headache could be reduced by using a new technique. By rotating the puncture needle the spinal meninges become penetrated with the bevel adjusted parallel to the main fibre direction. Therefore the fibres are only dissociated and not cut. We used this method in 20 patients and only 2 of them complained of headache. By contrast 14 out of another group of 20 patients suffered from headache after conventional lumbar puncture. These results demonstrate that post-lumbar puncture headache can be prevented in a high percentage of patients without using special puncture needles or sophisticated techniques.