CLINICAL QUESTION:
How many patients who had a negative computed tomography and lumbar puncture result on initial evaluation were diagnosed with subarachnoid hemorrhage in the subsequent 6 months to 3 years?
ARTICLE CHOSEN:
Perry J, Spacek A, Forbes M, et al. Is the combination of negative computed tomography result and negative lumbar puncture result sufficient to rule out subarachnoid hemorrhage? Ann Emerg Med 2008;51:707-13.
OBJECTIVE:
To determine the sensitivity of both a negative computed tomography and a negative lumbar puncture in ruling out subarachnoid hemorrhage.