Optic nerve sheath diameter as a prognostic tool for postdural puncture headache in pregnant women…

Cross-sectionalSaudi journal of anaesthesia· 2026

Optic nerve sheath diameter as a prognostic tool for postdural puncture headache in pregnant women undergoing caesarean section under spinal anesthesia: A cross-sectional study.

N Amulya, Lavanya Kaparti, Suresh N Kumar

Obstetric AnesthesiaCross-sectionalPrognosisQ2IF 0.9

Optic nerve sheath diameter at 72 hours predicts postdural puncture headache after spinal anesthesia

Optic nerve sheath diameter as a prognostic tool for postdural puncture headache in pregnant women undergoing caesarean section under spinal anesthesia: A cross-sectional study.

N Amulya … Suresh N Kumar

Saudi journal of anaesthesia · 2026

Background

Postdural puncture headache (postdural puncture headache) is a common and debilitating complication following spinal anesthesia in obstetric patients, with few objective tools available for early prediction.

Purpose

To evaluate the prognostic utility of optic nerve sheath diameter measurements in predicting postdural puncture headache among pregnant women undergoing cesarean section under spinal anesthesia.

Methods

This cross-sectional study included 88 pregnant women aged between 18 and 40 years undergoing cesarean section under spinal anesthesia.

n = 12 patients

Results

higher scores predict postdural puncture headache better, 1.0 would be perfect

AUC 0.78 (95% CI 0.66 to 0.89)

CI excludes the null - significant

More results

Postdural puncture headache occurred in 12 patients (13.6%).

Baseline optic nerve sheath diameter values were comparable between groups.

Patients who developed postdural puncture headache showed significantly lower optic nerve sheath diameter values from T4 onward ( P < 0.05).

More results

Optic nerve sheath diameter reduction from baseline at T72 was significantly greater in the postdural puncture headache group ( P < 0.001).

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Conclusion

Optic nerve sheath diameter measurement at 72 h postspinal anesthesia is a sensitive and clinically useful prognostic tool for predicting postdural puncture headache in obstetric patients and may be incorporated into routine postoperative monitoring.

Optic nerve sheath diameter as a prognostic tool for postdural puncture headache in pregnant women undergoing caesarean section under spinal anesthesia: A cross-sectional study.

Optic nerve sheath diameter as a prognostic tool for postdural puncture headache in pregnant women undergoing caesarean section under spinal anesthesia: A cross-sectional study.

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