A comparison of simple tests to distinguish cerebrospinal fluid from saline

Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia = Journal Canadien D'anesthésie
D S Walker, J G Brock-Utne

Abstract

This prospective study was undertaken to determine if anesthesiologists of different levels of training, using simple tests, can distinguish cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from saline. Thirty-two anaesthetists, divided into four groups, dependent upon levels of training, participated in the study. Each was asked to distinguish saline from an artificial CSF solution using four different tests: tactile temperature, glucose strip, pH strip, and turbidity when mixed with thiopental. Participants identified cerebrospinal fluid correctly with 84% accuracy using the temperature test, 97% using the glucose test, 91% using the pH test, and 50% using the thiopentone test. More than half of the participants guessed while using the thiopentone test, and those who did not guess were only 47% accurate. Level of training made no difference in distinguishing CSF from saline. No one test was 100% reliable. Clinical utility of the thiopentone test appears to be limited. The temperature, glucose, and pH tests, when used together, appear to be a useful way of distinguishing CSF from saline.

References

May 1, 1976·Anesthesiology·L S Reisner
Apr 1, 1977·Anesthesiology·J Catterberg
Apr 1, 1990·Canadian Journal of Anaesthesia = Journal Canadien D'anesthésie·S H RolbinS Radhakrisnan
Mar 1, 1993·Anesthesia and Analgesia·J H WatersJ V Chuba

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