Near Infrared Spectrophotometry: Potential Role During Increased Intracranial Pressure

Abstract

Miller et al¹. noted that when the initial intracranial pressure was greater than 40 mm Hg in head injured patients with mass lesions, the eventual neurological outcome was poor. They further noted that in patients without mass lesions presenting initially with a normal intracranial pressure, a subsequent rise greater than 20 mm Hg was associated with increased morbidity. These observations illustrate that, at the present time, the widespread practice of monitoring intracranial pressure serves two functions, that of providing a prognostic index for future outcome, and a means of continuously monitoring the progress of a hospitalized patient, allowing rapid intervention at times of increasing intracranial pressure. Keywords Mean Arterial Pressure Intracranial Pressure Cerebral Perfusion Pressure Head Injured Patient Brain Oxygenation These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.