[Recent modalities in the treatment of severe head injuries]

Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring represents today a critical point in the treatment of patients with severe head injuries. Medical therapy depends on the intracranial pressure level. The most important in therapy is to maintain the cerebral prefusion pressure at the level of 70 mmHg or above. The use of corticosteroids, prophylactic hyperventilation and prophylactic antiseizures drugs for the late posttraumatic seizures, is not recommended. High dose barbiturates can be used only in patients in whom other treatment modalities failed to decrease the raised intracranial pressure.