Clinical characteristics of the study patients
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| Age, y | |
| Mean ± SD | 46 ± 19 |
| Range | 17–90 |
| Male-to-female ratio | 32:37 |
| Body height, cm | |
| Mean ± SD | 163 ± 8 |
| Range | 141–180 |
| Body weight, kg | |
| Mean ± SD | 62 ± 12 |
| Range | 40–99 |
| Body mass index | |
| Mean ± SD | 23.3 ± 3.3 |
| Range | 17.3–31.6 |
| Diseases or reasons for lumbar puncture* | |
| Acute headache or headache exacerbation | 28 (41) |
| Meningitis, CNS infection, or pachymeningitis | 15 (22) |
| Brain tumor or metastasis | 10 (14) |
| Change in consciousness | 4 (6) |
| Spontaneous intracranial hypotension, stroke, pseudotumor cerebri, cranial nerve lesions | 2 each (3) |
| Multiple sclerosis, Guillain-Barré syndrome, normal pressure hydrocephalus, cranial nerve lesions | 1 each (1) |
| Duration between MRI studies and lumbar puncture* | |
| <1 d | 34 (49) |
| 1–2 d | 35 (51) |
* Data are the number of patients. Data in parentheses are percentages.