Trends in Lumbar Puncture Over 2 Decades
With the advent of more complex surgeries and costlier medications, there has been a general trend for a shift of LP procedures from the general practitioners to the radiologists. Fluoroscopic guided and Ultrasound guided lumbar punctures are being sought after more and more.29 Kroll et al. did a retrospective study of the primary LP procedure providers in United Stated over two decades form 1991-2011 beneficiaries. In 2011, radiologists performed 46.6% (n = 45,338) of all spinal taps, a significant increase compared to 1991 , where they performed only 11.3%(n=10,533). This increase was reflected in both therapeutic and diagnostic LPs.30Neurosciences did 14,453 (14.9%) LP procedures in 2011 compared to 46,146 (49.4%) in 1991, a significant decrease.