Head and Neck Labs Flashcards
What conditions may prompt you to do an analysis of CSF
Meningitis
MS
CNS hemorrhage
Malignancy
What comprises a routine CSF analysis
Color Cells Protein Glucose Gram stain/ culture VDRL - for syphilis
Normal color of CSF is clear- you have three tubes of csf that appear equally red in each one, what does this indicate
Sub arachnoid bleed. A traumatic tap would have a red color that gets less with each tube drawn from patient
hmmmm weird, you have a tube of CSF that your intern thought was urine because of its yellow color, but you correct her by saying….
No, dummy, its xanthochromic and is indicative of a sub arachnoid bleed!!
sorry im tired, need to spice this up
You perform a LP on a patient in the ED. They have symptoms of confusion and a very stiff neck along with a headache that is so bad they lights have to be off to attempt your LP (dangerous)…. It comes out cloudy, what is the cause of this
Increased white blood cells in the CSF, this person has a bacterial infection!
on a normal LP how much CSF do you take
1-2cc per tube and you take about 3-4 tubes
your patient was very difficult and you could only get one tube of CSF. It’s red af, and you’re freaking out. But not to worry, the lab has some ways that you can differentiate a traumatic tap from an SA bleed. and these are….
centrifugation with be clear with a traumatic tap and yellow in a bleed. CSF pressure will be low in a traumatic tap and high in a bleed. And clotting will be present in a traumatic tap and absent in a bleed
Elevated Lymphocytic cells in CSF are indicative of what
Viral encephalitis
Protein is not normally present in CSF in large amounts because it is a large molecule that does not readily pass the blood brain barrier. What can alter that barrier permeabilty and increase protein?
disease: bacterial meningitis, and viral encephalitis
in a normal patient with no disease process their plasma glucose is 130, what should their CSF glucose be?
85-is, should be 2/3 of plasma glucose
what happens to glucose in the csf if bacteria or a tumor is present
Decreased
Strep pnuemo is gram ____ (pos, neg) shape?
Neisseria is gram_____ (pos, neg) shape?
H. flu is gram _____ (pos, neg) shape?
pos- cocci in chains
neg - diplococci
neg- rods
why do gram negative bacteria stain pink
they contain lipopolysaccharides in the cell wall
when you see the term meningococcal meningitis what pathogen caused it
Neisseria
Oligoclonal banding
tests proteins present in CSF
present in 90-95 perecent of MS cases but is not specific for MS
