ArticleOpen forum infectious diseases2026
Repeat Lumbar Puncture in Adults With Encephalitis: Patient Characteristics, Cerebrospinal Fluid Dynamics, and Diagnostic Yield.
Article in Open forum infectious diseases, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: During an evaluation for encephalitis, lumbar puncture (LP) plays a critical role in establishing a diagnosis. Repeat LP may be needed when the diagnosis remains in doubt, the specific etiology of encephalitis has not yet been identified, or to aid management decisions. However, findings on repeat LP have not been well characterized, potentially confounding interpretation. Here, we examine the clinical characteristics of patients with encephalitis who underwent repeat LP, the evolution of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) parameters, and the indications for repeat LP during acute hospitalization. Method: This retrospective study analyzes LP and clinical data from 627 adults with all causes of encephalitis admitted between 2002 and 2022 across 2 hospital systems in Maryland and Texas. Results: Of the 627 patients, 184 (29.3%) underwent repeat LP, with a median interval of 6 days between procedures, and more commonly among those with more severe presentations. Patients were more likely to undergo repeat LP in autoimmune than in infectious encephalitis (42/113 [37.2%] vs 62/275 [22.5%], Conclusions: Repeat LPs are performed in one-third of encephalitis hospitalizations and are more common in patients with autoimmune etiologies, severe disease, or diagnostic uncertainty. Cerebrospinal fluid dynamics differ between infectious and autoimmune etiologies.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.