Abstract

In this study, we investigated the relationship between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure and hematological parameters in twenty one idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH) patients recruited from the patients’ records of Duzce University and Bezmialem Foundation University Medical Faculty Hospitals between 2009 and 2011. We carried blood and CSF examinations to exclude other disorders known to cause increased intracranial pressure. The relationship between CSF presssure parameters and hemotological parameters were examined using Pearson correlation coefficient. According to Pearson test, CSF pressure remained significantly associated with platelet distribution width (PDW) (p: 0.041; r: 0.461), having possitive correlation at moderate level and with red cell distribution width (RDW) (p<0.0001; r: 0.721), having positive correlation at stronger level (Figure 2). Additionaly, CSF pressure was found negatively related with mean corpuscular volume (MCV) (p: 0.017; r: -0.525), with mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) (p: 0.015; r: -0.535) and with mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC) (p: 0.038; r: -0.468) at stronger level. We suggest the investigation of the relation between the hematologic parameters to cerebral blood flow is an important task to uncover the veil of the mystery behind etiopathogenesis of IIH.

Key words: Headache, hematological parameters, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, pseudotumor cerebri, cerebrospinal fluid pressure.