Intracranial pressure monitoring: why monitor?
Evidence suggests that the mortality and morbidity of acquired brain injury could be reduced if clinicians used an aggressive intracranial pressure guided approach to care. Despite nearly 50 years of evidence that intracranial pressure monitoring benefits patient care, only about half of the patients who could benefit are monitored. Some clinicians express concerns regarding risks such as bleeding, infections, and inaccuracy of the technology. Others cite cost as the reason. This article discusses the risks and benefits of intracranial pressure monitoring and the current state of evidence of why patients should be monitored.
March
Karen
K
Department of Clinical Development, Integra NeuroScience, Plainsboro, NJ, USA. Ksmarch@aol.com
D002138:Calibration; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000209:etiology; D004867:Equipment Design; D004868:Equipment Failure; D004869:Equipment Safety; D006470:Hemorrhage / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D019586:Intracranial Hypertension / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000451:nursing / Q000503:physiopathology; D007427:Intracranial Pressure; D008991:Monitoring, Physiologic / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics / Q000295:instrumentation; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D018579:Patient Selection; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014160:Transducers, Pressure; D014696:Ventriculostomy