Diverse applications of continuous lumbar drainage of cerebrospinal fluid in neurosurgical patients.

From 1984 to 1991, continuous lumbar drainage (CLD) of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) had been applied in 48 neurosurgical patients. Eleven of them had CSF accumulation and/or leakage at the operative sites and 37 of them suffered from CSF rhinorrhea. Successful treatment was achieved in 98% (47/48) of patients. There was neither death nor infection noted in this series. Complication was found in only one patient who developed acute subdural haematoma with pneumocephalus six days after CLD. After emergency craniotomy and evacuation of haematoma, the patient recovered without neurological deficit. The results suggest that CLD is a simple, safe and effective method in the treatment of CSF accumulation and/or leakage at the operative sites, as well as CSF rhinorrhea of various aetiologies.