title: Long-term assessment of intracranial pressure using the tympanic membrane displacement measurement technique.
abstract: The tympanic intracranial pressure (ICP) measurement technique was used to assess intracranial pressure over several months in two patient populations. In the first study, 43 shunted hydrocephalic children, aged 4-17 years, were tested over a period of 18 months when clinically well. Of these 11 (26%) were later admitted with symptoms suggesting acute shunt blockage. The tympanic ICP measurement correlated with clinical and/or operative findings in 10 cases. In the second study, illustrated by a case report, repeated testing over a period of 5 months in children with chronic symptoms suggestive of periods of increased ICP, demonstrated a correlation between symptoms and ICP and helped influence management decisions. Tympanic ICP measurement in shunted children is a valuable tool in the assessment of acute and chronic shunt malfunction. Serial testing was shown to be clinically useful in the long-term management of these patients as a diagnostic indicator of pressure variation and shunt dysfunction.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, University of Southampton, U.K.
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Moss
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Marchbanks
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Burge
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D007427:Intracranial Pressure; D008297:Male; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors; D014432:Tympanic Membrane / Q000502:physiology*; D014696:Ventriculostomy