Neurological monitoring

Intensive care of the patient who has acute brain injury has undergone major changes. Neurologic monitoring, particularly continuous recording of the intracranial pressure, appears to have contributed to an improved outcome in head-injured patients. Computerized axial tomographic scanning has revolutionized the diagnosis and serial assessment of the patient. Other techniques such as cerebral blood flow measurements, reflectance spectrophotometry, and sophisticated electrophysiologic recording are being utilized in the laboratory and in man as monitoring techniques. There utility and potential applications are discussed, and the present role of monitoring reviewed.