What Do We Do When the ICP Goes Up?

We sought to study which intracranial pressure (ICP)-lowering treatments are actually administered following the diagnosis of a clinical intracranial hypertension episode (CLICHÉ) during modern, routine care.

We performed a secondary analysis of data from patients with ICP only (normal or blinded partial pressure of brain tissue oxygen [PbtO₂]) in the Brain Tissue Oxygen Monitoring and Management in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (BOOST II) randomized trial. We identified "minimalist" (forme fruste) CLICHÉs (defined by 5 min of ICP > 20 lasting ≤ 60 min, requiring only Tier One treatments) and catalogued all interventions by frequency, grouping and distribution of administration. Tier One treatments were not rank-ordered.

Of the 119 randomized patients, 70 had 509 CLICHÉs that met forme fruste definition with complete datasets (71% of total CLICHÉs). Analgosedation adjustment and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage were the predominant treatments, used respectively in 72% and 33% of full CLICHÉs and within the first 15 min in 53% and 31%. In combination, they were the third most common intervention. Treatments often involved agent combinations (41% for full CLICHÉs; 46% within the first 15 min). Treatments that could be readily and discretionally administered by the bedside clinician represented 76% of treatments for full CLICHÉs and 69% for early interventions.

Analgosedation adjustment predominates as the treatment of choice for forme fruste CLICHÉs despite scarce literature support regarding mechanism, efficacy or influence on outcome. Frequent use of agent combinations confounds use of treatments (e.g. therapeutic intensity level) as a descriptive variable. Although details regarding clinical reasoning underlying intervention choices are lacking, it appears that intervention choice may be influenced by expediency outside of effectiveness. These findings accent the importance of understanding how treatment protocols are actually implemented. Investigation of the proper role of analgosedation adjustment and treatment combinations in ICP control is needed. Current management practices require targeted, physiology-based treatment guidance.