Arterial blood pressure vs intracranial pressure in normal pressure hydrocephalus.
OBJECTIVE
To characterize the association between arterial blood pressure (ABP) and intracranial pressure (ICP) in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH) patients, and its impact on outcome of shunt surgery.


METHODS
We analyzed all 35 iNPH patients whose ABP and ICP were recorded simultaneously during 6 years (2002-2007). The static and pulsatile pressures were averaged over consecutive 6-s intervals; the moving correlations between ICP and ABP (static and pulsatile) were determined during consecutive 4-min periods to explore time-related variations.


RESULTS
Neither static nor pulsatile ABP were altered in iNPH shunt responders. Elevated pulsatile ICP, but normal static ICP, was seen in responders. The time-varying correlations of static and of pulsatile pressures were generally low, and did not differ between shunt responders/non-responders.


CONCLUSIONS
In iNPH shunt responders, static or pulsatile ABP were not altered and only pulsatile ICP was elevated.
Eide
P K
PK
Department of Neurosurgery, Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Rikshospitalet University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. per.kristian.eide@rikshospitalet.no
Park
E-H
EH
Madsen
J R
JR
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D002557:Cerebrospinal Fluid Shunts; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006850:Hydrocephalus, Normal Pressure / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery; D007427:Intracranial Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome