Increased intracranial pressure

Extract

• Intracranial pressure may increase slowly or rapidly.
• The possibility of slowly increased intracranial pressure must be considered in a patient whose symptoms include headache, nausea and vomiting, problems with memory, vision and balance, or impaired level or loss of consciousness.
• In a catastrophic brain event (brain injury, cerebral haemorrhage, subarachnoid haemorrhage, brain infarction, status epilecticus), the increasing intracranial pressure does not immediately cause papillary stasis.
• Direct ophthalmoscopy should be performed for the presence of papilloedema; normal optic discs do not, however, rule out rapidly increasing intracranial pressure in brain emergencies (e.g. brain injury).
• Increased intracranial pressure warrants immediate imaging of the head (CT, MRI) in order to establish the cause and the correct acute treatment.
• In the neurointensive care of an acute catastropic brain event, the management of intracranial pressure is a central challenge, and uncontrolled pressure may lead to brain death.

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Brain Edema, Child, Emergency skull, G91.2, G91.2, G93.2, G93.2, G93.6, G93.6, Hydrocephalus, Hydrocephalus, Normal Pressure, Hyperventilation, Hypoventilation, Intracranial Hypertension, Neurology, Neurosurgery, Papilledema, Pupil, R90.0, R90.0, S06.1, S06.1, Tomography, X-Ray Computed, anoxia, intracranial pressure