Lumbar CSF Drain Effective for Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Patients

A pragmatic randomized clinical trial including 287 patients at 19 sites in 3 countries found that prophylactic lumbar cerebrospinal fluid drainage improved clinical neurological outcomes at 6 months among patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. The rate of unfavorable neurologic outcome was 32.6% in the lumbar drainage group and 44.8% in the standard of care group. Lumbar drainage lessened the burden of secondary infarction and decreased the rate of unfavorable outcome at 6 months.