Cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhoea

What it means

Drainage of cerebrospinal fluid through the nose. This can occur when there is a fistula between the dura and the skull base and discharge of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from the nose.

CSF rhinorrhea or liquorrhoea commonly occurs following head trauma (fronto-basal skull fractures), as a result of intracranial surgery, or destruction lesions. A spinal fluid leak from the intracranial space to the nasal respiratory tract is potentially very serious because of the risk of an ascending infection which could produce fulminant meningitis.

Rare diseases that can present with this2

The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.

Part of the broader category

Also called: CSF rhinorrhoea