ABSTRACT
Although rhinorrhoea can be a socially troubling symptom, the principal motivation for repair of CSF leaks is to reduce the risk of meningitis or other intracranial complications. The incidence of meningitis in patients with an active CSF leak has been quoted as 10 per cent year on year,3,4 although a more recent study has suggested that the incidence may be as low as 0.3 per cent per year per active leak per person.5 Daudia et al. found that in 111 patients with 190 years of active leaks, 21 developed meningitis resulting in an overall risk of 19 per cent although most occurred in the first year of the leak.
