Background: Lumbar punctures (LPs) are frequently performed in the paediatric medical emergency unit (MEU) department to diagnose or exclude meningitis. Unsuccessful lumbar punctures (LPs) cause diagnostic uncertainty which may prolong hospital stay and result in unnecessary antibiotic treatment and increased costs to the hospital and patients. It is important to determine factors that may be effective in reducing unsuccessful LPs. There is a paucity of studies on this topic from sub-Saharan Africa. Previous studies have shown inconsistent results and the use of sedation has not previously been studied. Aims: To determine the prevalence of unsuccessful lumbar punctures(LPs) and the factors influencing this in the medical emergency unit (MEU) and short stay ward (SSW) at Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Cape Town.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uct/oai:localhost:11427/20854 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Procter, Claire |
| Contributors | Buys, Heloise, Thomas, Jenny |
| Publisher | University of Cape Town, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Paediatrics and Child Health |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Master Thesis, Masters, MMed |
| Format | application/pdf |
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