[Some practical problems and several methodological trials in continuous intracranial pressure monitoring]

The continuous intracranial pressure monitoring has been widely applied in intensive or critical care, but there are various kinds of methods for its monitoring at present. One hundred and forty-one cases mostly with severe head injury were subject to the intracranial pressure recordings in the critical care ward in Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Tokyo Hospital, from October, 1980 through May, 1983, and in Neurosurgical Unit, Showa General Hospital, in April and May, 1984. The authors made several methodological trials for the monitorings in them and compared with one another from the aspect of clinical practice. The subarachnoid catheter was inserted into the subarachnoid or sometimes into the subdural spaces by way of the burr hole in 112 cases and proved not to demonstrate in some cases the intracranial pressure waves clearly due to so called damping phenomenon but to indicate the reliable values, or trustworthy mean pressures in all the cases except for impending brain dead patients with swollen hemispheres and least cerebrospinal fluid remained in intracranial subarachnoid spaces. The ventricular fluid pressure was monitored in nine cases and was most dependable as well as the subarachnoid pressure. The ventricular cannulation and its maintenance were, however, difficult when the ventricles were compressed or deviated, which were often experienced in acute severe head injury and also in impending brain death just because of the same above mentioned reasons. These demerits were attempted to be conqured with epidural pressure monitorings such as the fiberoptic sensor (Ladd) in 17 cases, the intracranial catheter tip pressure transducer (Gaeltec) in nine cases and the sensor of bioimplantable polymer (Plastimed) in three cases.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)