Spinal Subdural Hematoma

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Abstract
A RARE, but serious, complication of lumbar puncture is the production of a spinal subdural hematoma with resulting damage to the cord and roots. The importance of thrombocytopenia, usually associated with malignancy, in the formation of these hematomas was emphasized in a recent review in which it was present in nine of 12 patients.1Alcoholism, a common problem, can cause thrombocytopenia,2and in a chronic alcoholic can be an unsuspected hazard of lumbar puncture, as in the patient described in this report. Report of a Case A severely debilitated, 37-year-old female alcoholic was admitted to the hospital because of fever, heart murmur, tetany, and tremulousness. No history or clinical evidence of a blood dyscrasia was noted. The prothrombin time and the partial thromboplastin time were normal. After admission, she had a cardiac arrest but was successfully resuscitated. She was lethargic and disoriented, and because of the possibility of

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