• K A Green and N J Shaw.
• Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Fazakerley Hospital, Liverpool, UK.
• Early Hum. Dev. 1994 Apr 15; 36 (3): 187-90.

AbstractCerebrospinal fluid glucose and cerebrospinal fluid:blood glucose ratios were compared in seven patients with post haemorrhagic hydrocephalus having lumbar puncture/ventricular tap as a therapeutic measure. A control group of 10 babies was used, without intraventricular haemorrhage, and having lumbar puncture as part of a septic screen. Of 50 separate taps in the patient group, 38% had blood glucose measured and 76% had CSF glucose measured. Median cerebrospinal fluid glucose was 1.2 mmol (range, 0.4-2.5 mmol/l) in the patient group and 3.1 mmol/l (range, 1.4-10.3 mmol/l) in the control group. The median cerebrospinal fluid:blood glucose ratio in the patient group was 0.235 (range, 0.07-0.53) and in the control group was 0.709 (range, 0.6-1.4). Hypoglycorrhachia appears to be a normal finding in patients with post haemorrhagic hydrocephalus and does not indicate infection in these infants. Measurement of cerebrospinal fluid:blood glucose ratio is not warranted when cerebrospinal fluid is drained purely as a therapeutic measure in these patients.

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