[Intracranial pressure monitoring in patients with severe craniocerebral injury]

After severe head injury intracranial pressure (ICP) must be measured continuously for management to assess and maintain the cerebral perfusion. Therefore in our hospital epidural transducers are used. To prove the efficiency of this method in a 12-month period the clinical courses of 23 patients with intracranial pressure transducers were analysed retrospectively. Eighteen patients survived, 5 of them without residuals, 13 with residuals and 2 remained in coma. In 14 patients secondary rises of intracranial pressure were observed between days 3 and 6 post injury. The mean ICP value of the survivors revealed 25 mm Hg. whereas the expired showed 60 mm Hg. In 17 patients the measurements were considered as reliable, 6 measurements were not reliable, which included 1 of the 5 patients who died. One transduce was displaced, another one showed a hemorrhage at the drill hole. There was no infection.