A Bedside, Single Burr Hole Approach to Multimodality Monitoring in Severe Brain Injury

Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is a cornerstone of the intensive care management of patients with severe acute brain injuries, including traumatic brain injury. While elevations in ICP are common, data regarding the measurement and treatment of these ICP elevations are conflicting. There is increasing recognition that changes in the balance between supply and demand of brain tissue are critically important and therefore the measurement of multiple modalities is required. Approaches are not standard, and therefore this article provides a description of a bedside, single burr hole approach to multimodality monitoring that allows the passage of probes designed to measure not only ICP but brain tissue oxygen, blood flow, and intracranial electroencephalography. Patient selection criteria, operative procedures, and practical considerations for securing probes during critical care are described. This method is readily performed, safe, secure, and flexible for the adoption of a variety of multimodality monitoring approaches aimed at detecting or preventing secondary brain injuries.