Abstract:To research the cause and countermeasure of complications of continued lumbar cerebrospinal fluid drainage (CLCFD) for the treatment of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Methods The clinical data of 63 patients with SAH who were hospitalized in the Department of Neurosurgery of our hospital from December 2014 to December 2015 were retrospectively analyzed. All of them were be treated by CLCFD, and the effect and complications of CLCFD were observed. Results The time of drainage were 1-29 days with an average of (5.87 ±1.04) days. After treatment 43 cases recovered excellently, 17 cases recovered partially, 3 cases had no improvement. There was no complication in 22 cases, 1 case had cerebral hernia, 2 cases had rebleeding, 3 cases had delayed hydrocephalus, 3 cases failed in intubation, 6 cases had intracranial hypotension. Catheter blockage occurred 15 cases, 6 cases made bold to draw the tube by themselves, 5 cases had seepage, 6 cases had inadequate drainage, subdural effusion occurred in 1 case, radiculalgia occurred in 3 cases. Conclusions Lumbar cistern set tube drainage can rapidly drain bloody cerebrospinal fluid, shorten the duration of treatment for patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage and accelerate patient recovery. The causes of complications include improper operation and catheterization, excessive drainage, and patients with low compliance. According to the different causes of the complications, corresponding measures should be taken in clinic to decrease the incidences of the complications, which include improvement of operation skills, paying attention to control drainage rate and drainage time, and improvement of the patients' compliance.