Table 3 Characteristics of duration, disability, and work capacity in pPDPH

Duration of pPDPH

N (%)

N (%)

N (%)

 3–6 months

8 (4.5)

4 (4.1)

4 (4.1)

 6–12 months

39 (21.8)

15 (18.3)

24 (24.7)

 1–3 years

75 (41.9)

29 (35.4)

46 (47.4)

 3–5 years

35 (19.6)

24 (29.3)

11 (11.3)

 More than 5 years

22 (12.3)

11 (13.4)

11 (11.3)

HDI total score Mean (SD)

49.8 (16.4)

53.8 (18.1)

46.5 (16.5)

 Mild Disability (< 35 points)

57 (31.8%)

39 (47.6%)

18 (18.6%)

 Moderate Disability (35–60 points)

46 (25.7%)

12 (14.6%)

34 (35.1%)

 Severe Disability (> 60 points)

76 (42.5%)

31 (37.8%)

45 (46.3%)

HDI– Emotional Mean (SD)

27.9 (7.9)

28.7 (8.6)

26.2 (7.9)

HDI– Functional Mean (SD)

22.6 (9.8)

25.3 (9.9)

20.3 (9.3)

Positional Headaches

 No

81 (45.3)

45 (54.9)

36 (37.1)

 Yes

98 (54.7)

37 (45.1)

61 (62.9)

Location of Headache

 Back Head/Neckregion

90 (50.3)

54 (65.8)

36 (37.1)

 Whole Head

58 (32.4)

20 (24.4)

38 (39.2)

 Neck Region

23 (12.8)

8 (9.8)

15 (15.4)

 Forehead/Temples

8 (4.5)

0

8 (8.3)

Ability to be in an Upright Position

 Not at all

29 (16.2)

16 (19.5)

13 (13.4)

 Less than 1 h

50 (27.9)

15 (18.3)

35 (36.1)

 2–4 h

29 (16.2)

9 (11.0)

20 (20.6)

 Most of the day

16 (8.9)

6 (7.3)

10 (10.3)

 Whole day

55 (30.7)

36 (43.9)

19 (19.6)

Sick leave due to pPDPH

 3–6 Months

14 (7.8)

4 (4.9)

10 (10.3)

 6–12 Months

43 (24.0)

26 (31.7)

17 (17.5)

 Over 1 year

64 (35.8)

26 (31.7)

38 (39.2)

 Over 2 years

6 (3.4)

4 (4.9)

2 (2.1)

 Unable to work

52 (29.1)

22 (26.8)

30 (30.9)

Current Work Capacity

 Part-time (10–20 h/week)

106 (59.2)

45 (54.9)

61 (62.9)

 Full-time (30–40 h/week)

21 (11.7)

14 (17.1)

7 (7.2)

 Changed Job Due to pPDPH

2 (1.1)

1 (1.2)

1 (1.0)

 Unable to work

50 (27.9)

22 (26.8)

28 (28.9)

Epidural Bloodpatch

 Mean (SD) min-max

3.15 (1.7) 1–9

3.12 (1.9) 1–9

3.2 (1.6) 1–8

Surgery

 Yes

41 (22.9)

41 (50)

0

 No

138 ( 77.1)

41 (50)

97 (100)

 Explorativ surgery

29 (16.2)

29 (35.5)

0