Experimental Study on Cerebrospinal Fluid: Bloody Cerebrospinal Fluid.

Choi, Yong Il

Original Article

Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society 1977;6(1): 11-18.

Department of Neurosurgery, College of Medicine Korea University, Korea.

ABSTRACT

Bleeding into the subarachnoid space is one of frequent complications in neurosurgical practice and most frequently caused by rupture of meningeal vessels by trauma to the head. Hemorrhage into the subarachnoid space may occur in patient with blood dyscrasias, intracranial tumors, vascular anomalies, certain toxic or infectious diseases of the nervous system, and infracerebral hemorrhages. It may be worthy for academic interest and clinical practice to estimate the age of blood after hemorrhage into the cerebrospinal fluid. To simulate a bloody cerebrospinal fluid encountered with subarachnoid hemorrhages in clinical practice, 10% RBC-CSF suspension in vitro was made for the experiment. The age of the red blood cells in the RBC-CSF suspension of normal subject was assessed and estimated chemically by quantitative analysis of oxygen, methemoglobin, potassium and billrubin. Oxygen started to be detected chemically in the 24 hour experimental group, and the amount of it was rapidly decreased as time elapsed by 72 hours and not detected thereafter. Methemoglobin was chemically detected on 3rd day and value of it was increased gradually throughout the entire period of experiment. An increase of amount of potassium above a normal value began to be detected in the 72 hour experimental group and the increase of it continued gradually throughout the entire period of experiment. Rate of the increase of methemoglobin showed higher than that of potassium. Bilirubin was detected on 5th day of experiment and increase of the clinical reaction was continued by the end of experimental period. It would be well to say that the experimental results could be applied in some aspect to clinical situation, espically subarachnoid hemorrhage.