Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

A Detailed Protocol for Physiological Parameters Acquisition and Analysis in Neurosurgical Critical Patients
Published on: October 17, 2017
Bioinformatics analysis of mortality associated with elevated intracranial pressure in children
Mark S Wainwright1, Remigiusz Lewandowski
1Department of Pediatrics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA. m-wainwright@northwestern.edu
Insights
Hierarchical cluster analysis revealed associations between intracranial pressure (ICP), cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), and patient outcomes in pediatric acute brain injury. Elevated ICP and lower CPP were linked to mortality, highlighting ICP
Area of Science:
- Pediatric critical care medicine
- Neurocritical care
- Multivariate data analysis
Background:
- Multivariate data analysis can enhance the interpretation of complex data in critically ill patients.
- Acute brain injury in children requires intensive monitoring and analysis of various physiological parameters.
Purpose of the Study:
- To apply hierarchical cluster analysis to identify factors influencing outcomes in children with acute brain injury requiring intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring.
- To investigate associations between physiological parameters and survival in pediatric patients with acute brain injury.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective analysis of pediatric intensive care unit patients with ICP monitoring (2003-2008).
- Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed comparing survivors and non-survivors.
- Area under the curve (AUC) for ICP and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) were compared between groups.
Main Results:
- Cluster analysis identified associations between CPP, PaCO(2), and end-tidal CO(2), and between ICP, central venous pressure, and lactate.
- Survivors had significantly lower ICP (13.7 ± 7.9 mmHg) compared to non-survivors (42.7 ± 36.2 mmHg).
- Survivors exhibited higher mean (59.4 vs 41.3) and minimum (47.3 vs 28.1) CPP; higher ICP AUC was observed in non-survivors.
Conclusions:
- The magnitude of abnormal ICP may significantly impact outcomes in pediatric acute brain injury.
- Hierarchical clustering demonstrates potential as a valuable tool in pediatric neurocritical care clinical practice.
Introduction:
Multivariate data analyses have the potential to enrich the use of the complex plethora of data gathered in the care of critically ill patients. We sought to apply hierarchical cluster analysis to investigate factors affecting outcome in children with acute brain injury requiring ICP monitoring.
Methods:
We performed a retrospective analysis on patients admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit with ICP monitoring for management of acute brain injury between 2003 and 2008. We performed cluster analysis comparing survivors and non-survivors. We compared the area the under the curve (time and duration above a determined value) between groups.
Results:
We identified 32 patients among whom 8 died during hospitalization. Cluster analysis identified an association among CPP, PaCO(2), and end-tidal CO(2), and among ICP, central venous pressure, and lactate, in addition to other unexpected associations. Values (mean ± SD) for ICP in survivors (13.7 ± 7.9 mmHg) were lower than (42.7 ± 36.2) in non-survivors. Mean (59.4 vs 41.3), and minimum (47.3 vs 28.1) CPP were higher in survivors. The AUC for ICP was greater in the subjects who died and cluster analyses supported the importance of ICP and CPP related to outcome.
Conclusions:
The dose of abnormal ICP may contribute to outcome in insults that involve increased ICP. These results are proof of principle of the potential application of hierarchical clustering to the clinical practice of pediatric neurocritical care.
Related Concept Videos
Increased Intracranial Pressure ll: Pathophysiology
Increased Intracranial Pressure l: Introduction
Cerebral Edema ll: Pathophysiology
Bacterial Meningitis II: Pathophysiology
Cerebral Edema l: Introduction
Cytotoxic Edema: Pathophysiology

