Intracranial pressure monitoring

There are three ways to monitor ICP. ICP is the pressure in the skull. These procedures are most often done on people with life-threatening neurological emergencies. INTRAVENTRICULAR CATHETER The intraventricular catheter is the most accurate monitoring method. To insert an intraventricular catheter, a hole is drilled…

Most of the time, this procedure is done when a person is in the hospital intensive care unit. If you are awake and aware, your health care provider will explain the procedure and the risks. You will have to sign a consent form.

If the procedure is done using general anesthesia , you will be asleep and pain-free. When you wake up, you will feel the normal side effects of anesthesia. You will also have some discomfort from the cut made in your skull. If the procedure is done under local anesthesia, you will be awake. Numbing medicine will be…

This test is most often done to measure ICP. It may be done when there is a severe head injury or brain/nervous system disease. It also may be done after surgery to remove a tumor or fix damage to a blood vessel if the surgeon is worried about brain swelling. High ICP can be treated by draining CSF through the…

Normally, the ICP ranges from 1 to 20 mm Hg. Talk to your provider about the meaning of your specific test results.

High ICP means that both nervous system and blood vessel tissues are under pressure. If not treated, this can lead to permanent damage. In some cases, it can be life threatening.

Risks from the procedure may include: Bleeding Brain herniation or injury from the increased pressure Damage to the brain tissue Inability to find the ventricle and place catheter Infection Risks of general anesthesia

DiGiorgio AM, Huang MC, Wang VY, Manley GT. Intracranial pressure monitoring. In: Winn HR, ed. Youmans and Winn Neurological Surgery . 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap37. Oddo M, Taccone F. Intracranial pressure monitoring. In: Vincent J-L, Abraham E, Moore FA, Kochanek PM, Fink MP, eds. Textbook of…