CSF tap test

The CSF tap test, sometimes lumbar tap test or Miller Fisher Test, is a medical test that is used to decide whether shunting of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) would be helpful in a patient with suspected normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH). The test involves removing 30 mL of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) through a lumbar puncture, after which cognitive function is clinically reassessed. The name "Fisher test" is after C. Miller Fisher, a Canadian neurologist working in Boston, Massachusetts, who described the test.[1]

Clinical improvement showed a high predictive value for subsequent success with shunting. A "negative" test has a very low predictive accuracy, as many patients may improve after a shunt in spite of lack of improvement after CSF removal.

References

  1. Collins LG, Rovner BN, Marenberg MM (2009). "Evaluation and Management of Dementia". In Arenson C, Busby-Whitehead J, Brummel-Smith K, O'Brien JG, Palmer MH, Reichel W. Reichel's care of the elderly : clinical aspects of aging. (6th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 180. ISBN 9780521869294.
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