Effects of mannitol and steroid therapy on intracranial volume-pressure relationships in patients.
The intracranial volume-pressure response was measured in 61 patients undergoing continous monitoring of intraventicular pressure. This test, which determlnes the increase in intracranial pressure induced by an addition of 1 ml in ventricular CSF volume in 1 sencond, yields information concerning spatial compensation in patients with intracranial space-occupying processes. On the basis of variability tests, a change in volume-pressure response of 2 mm Hg/ml was accepted as significant. Pronounced enlargement of the ventricles interferes with the test. In patients with intracranial hypertension, intravenous mannitol (0.5gm/kg) and intramuscular betamethasone (26 mg) both reduce the volume-pressure response significantly more than they reduce intracranial pressure. This suggests that these agents favorably alter the configuration of the volume-pressure curve.
D001623:Betamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000150:complications; D002552:Cerebral Ventricles / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D002555:Cerebrospinal Fluid; D002561:Cerebrovascular Disorders / Q000150:complications; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology; D007273:Injections, Intramuscular; D007427:Intracranial Pressure / Q000187:drug effects*; D008353:Mannitol / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011559:Pseudotumor Cerebri / Q000188:drug therapy*
D008353:Mannitol; D001623:Betamethasone