Current international guidelines recommend that a cranial computed tomography (CT) be performed on all HIV-positive patients presenting with new onset seizures, before a lumbar puncture (LP) is performed. In the South African setting, however, this delay could be life threatening. The present study sought to measure the number of cranial CTs that contraindicate an LP and to predict which clinical signs and symptoms are likely to pose an increased risk from LP.

中文翻译：

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在开普敦米切尔斯平原医院，对出现癫痫发作的艾滋病毒阳性成人进行腰椎穿刺前的常规颅骨计算机断层扫描。

目前的国际指南建议，在进行腰椎穿刺 (LP) 之前，对所有出现新发癫痫发作的 HIV 阳性患者进行颅脑计算机断层扫描 (CT)。然而，在南非，这种延误可能会危及生命。本研究旨在测量不适合腰椎穿刺的颅脑 CT 数量，并预测哪些临床体征和症状可能会增加腰椎穿刺的风险。