Yellow-tinged cerebrospinal fluid: Is it safe to proceed with subarachnoid block?

Abstract

Isolated subarachanoid hemorrhage (SAH) could be one of the few causes of xanthochromia or yellow coloured cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). An incidental finding of yellow coloured CSF poses a dilemma to the anaesthesiologist in proceeding with the subarachnoid block (SAB) The present case report discusses the causes and implication of this incidental finding and highlights upon the evidence in literature in this context.