Subarachnoid hemorrhage is a rare but potentially fatal cause of headache. According to results from a recent study, CT scans enable clinicians to identify patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage, with a high sensitivity. Does CT imaging rule out the need for lumbar puncture in patients who present with headache?
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Relevant articles
Open Access articles citing this article.
-
Relapsing subarachnoid hemorrhage as a clinical manifestation in microscopic polyangiitis: a case report and literature review
Clinical Rheumatology Open Access 11 June 2022
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$209.00 per year
only $17.42 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Change history
22 February 2012
In the version of this article initially published online, the author initial was incorrect for both the authors. The error has been corrected for the HTML and PDF versions of the article.
References
van Gijn, J., Kerr, R. S. & Rinkel G. J. Subarachnoid haemorrhage. Lancet 369, 306–318 (2007).
Naganuma, M. et al. Clinical characteristics of subarachnoid hemorrhage with or without headache. J. Stroke Cerebrovasc. Dis. 17, 334–339 (2008).
Perry, J. J. et al. Sensitivity of computed tomography performed within six hours of onset of headache for diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage: a prospective cohort study. BMJ 343, d4277 (2011).
Carley, S. & Harrison, M. Best evidence topic report. Timing of lumbar puncture in suspected subarachnoid haemorrhage. Emerg. Med. J. 22, 121–122 (2005).
Stiell, I. G. et al. The Canadian CT Head Rule for patients with minor head injury. Lancet 357, 1391–1396 (2001).
Triage, assessment, investigation and early management of head injury in infants, children and adults. National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence [online], (2011).
Perry, J. J. et al. High risk clinical characteristics for subarachnoid haemorrhage in patients with acute headache: prospective cohort study. BMJ 341, c5204 (2010).
SimvaSTatin in Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Haemorrhage. The STASH trial [online], (2006).
Byyny, R. L. et al. Sensitivity of noncontrast cranial computed tomography for the emergency department diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Ann. Emerg. Med. 51, 697–703 (2008).
Horstman, P., Linn., F. H., Voorbij, H. A. & Rinkel, G. J. Chance of aneurysm in patients suspected of SAH who have a 'negative' CT scan but a 'positive' lumbar puncture. J. Neurol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00415-011-6228-1.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hutchinson, P., Kirkpatrick, P. Diagnosing subarachnoid hemorrhage: are CT scans enough?. Nat Rev Neurol 8, 126–127 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2011.224
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrneurol.2011.224