Preventing increased intracranial pressure: nursing care can make the difference

Recent studies show that critical care nurses are instrumental in reducing increased intracranial pressure in patients after pathologic neurologic events. The nursing literature addresses the absence of adequate nursing diagnoses to document the scope of critical care nursing practice and the impact of nursing care on the patient's ultimate outcome. In this article several basic pathophysiologic responses to increased intracranial pressure are reviewed and a comprehensive list of nursing interventions is presented to be used by nurses caring for the patient with this potentially catastrophic illness. Two new nursing diagnoses are proposed: (1) alteration in intracranial pressure: increased: potential, and (2) alteration in intracranial pressure: increased: actual. Use of the diagnoses will aid in the critical care nurse's documentation of nursing's unique contribution to the complex care of these patients.