Culture results of lumbar puncture samples in the emergency ward: A descriptive study

Aim: This study aimed to present diagnostic procedures in patients admitted to an emergency department who underwent lumbar puncture (LP) due to suspected bacterial meningitis. Material and Methods: The study included patients admitted to the emergency department between 01 January 2013 and 31 December 2015. Patients who underwent lumbar puncture with a differential diagnosis of acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) were included in the study. The hospital patient registry was searched for the procedure "Spinal tap" in the emergency room (ER). Results: Of the 412 patients, 50.5% (n=208) were children aged <9 years. The median age was 9 years, ranging from 0 to 93. The sex distribution was as follows: 183 (44.4%) females and 229 (55.6%) males. Of the 875 112 admissions to the ER, 412 (4.7 per 1000) underwent a spinal tap due to suspected ABM. A seasonal variation was observed in the number of applications with November and December having the maximum frequencies. In 297 (72.1%) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples, bacterial infection was suspected. Of the 381 samples (92.4%) sent for culture, 10.0% (n=41) were positive. The most commonly encountered pathogens were S. aureus and skin flora (both 56.1%, n=23). Computed tomography investigation was prescribed before the LP procedure to 276 patients (67.0%). Discussion: Turkey should introduce clear policies in managing patients requiring spinal taps in the emergency wards, including the conditions to prevent contamination and ordering computed tomography. Necessary training should be planned for the hospital staff from these perspectives.