Frequency and Associated Factors of Parental Refusal to Perform Lumbar Puncture in Children with Suspected Central Nervous System Infection: A Cross-sectional Study

Objective Lumbar puncture (LP) is a useful procedure which is performed for both diagnosis and treatment of numerous conditions affecting children and adults. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency and cause of increased parental refusal to perform LP in the pediatric population. Method A cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2018 to June 2019 at the Civil Hospital, Dow University of Health Sciences, pediatric department, Civil Hospital, Karachi. Over the 18-month time period, a total of 215 patients who had indications of LP were selected from the in-patient pediatrics department; the age range was between newborn to 12 years of age. The mode of research was a questionnaire and interview-based method that was conducted with guardians of minor patients to understand the extent of their knowledge and awareness about the LP procedure as well as its complication and the role of culture, education background, and financial status of the families which may lead to an increased likelihood of refusal. Result The frequency of LP refusal amongst the 215 families of the patients that were interviewed was found to be 32.6%. Mean age of the respondents was 30.98 years. The decision for LP was not significantly affected by the subjects’ gender (p=0.1), by the religious communities to which the families belonged (p=0.9), their ethnicities (0.52), or by the families’ financial status (p=0.4). It was observed that when indications for performing LP were appropriately explained, there was a significantly greater number of consents given as compared to when they were not made clear (p=0.009). Explaining the complications of the procedure did not considerably impact the decision for refusal of the procedure (p=0.1). The multi-variable logistic regression analysis model was applied to determine the likelihood of variables affecting refusal of LP and the logistic regression model was found to be statistically significant, χ2 (8) = 38.2 p < 0. 001. Conclusion Lack of knowledge about the LP procedure and fear of ramification plays a conspicuous role in the denial of LP procedure by the guardians of minor patients. A better, simpler approach using standardized consent forms by the doctors may lead to the removal of the information gaps and can provide a better understanding about the concerned risks, the primary indications, and the benefits of this procedure to the guardians.