The effect of familiar and unfamiliar voice treatments on intracranial pressure in head-injured patients.
Limited research has been conducted exploring the relationship between verbal stimulation and intracranial pressure (ICP). The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of verbal stimulation on ICP in head-injured patients. The sample consisted of 12 head-injured patients with a mean age of 31.5 years and mean Glasgow Coma Scale score of 7.8. A message was recorded by a familiar voice (family) and an unfamiliar voice (researcher). The familiar voice message was played to each subject. After a rest period, the unfamiliar voice message was played. ICP was recorded before, during and after playing both taped messages. Results demonstrated little change in ICP of head-injured patients when exposed to recorded verbal stimuli. Paired t-tests demonstrated no statistically significant differences between means. Results suggest families of head-injured patients with normal ICP can verbally interact with the patients for short periods without significant increases in ICP.
Treloar
D M
DM
University of Florida, College of Nursing, Gainesville 32610.
Nalli
B J
BJ
Guin
P
P
Gary
R
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000451:nursing* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D007427:Intracranial Pressure; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D014831:Voice