Effect of head elevation on cerebral blood flow velocity in post-cerebral operation patients

This pre-experimental research measured patients' mean blood velocity (MV), peak systolic velocity (PSV), and end-diastolic velocity (EDV) of the middle cerebral arteries by using transcranial Doppler (TCD) to understand the immediate changes in cerebral blood flow (CBF) when head elevation degree changed, and whether CBF will return to stability after 10 minutes of elevation. Ten patients who underwent cerebral surgery were selected from one medical centre by purposeful sampling within five months. One-way ANOVA was used to analyze the data. The study results showed that MV, PSV, and EDV had obviously changed when head elevation was 15 degrees, 30 degrees, or 45 degrees from the horizontal at 10 seconds, and then recovered gradually. This study examined four head elevation degrees that affected cerebral blood flow. The results are likely to help nurses in caring for these patients.