PRELIMINARY REPORT ON CLINICAL MONITORING OF INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE

Intracranial pressure(ICP)monitoring in20 neurosurgical patients with locally mademonitoring apparatus is reported.The data in-clude continuous recording of intraventricularfluid pressure in 11,epidural pressure in 8 andsubdural pressure in 1.In the 3 in which inte-grity of the epidural space had been spoiled byskull fracture or eraniotomy,modified Vriesmethod failed to record epidural pressure formonitoring.In another 3 in which the epiduralspace was intact,this modified Vries method ofmonitoring epidural pressure was successful,but marked damping effect prevented longterm monitoring.A miniature pressure trans-ducer is indispensable in monitoring epiduralpressure.Rhythmic variation of pressure waves andparoxysmal attacks of so-called plateau wavewere observed on several occasions.Further-more,the effects of intravenous mannitol,RadixSalviae Miltiorrhiza 丹参 extract in dextran aswell as releasing cerebrospinal fluid to reduceintracranial pressure were also observed andrecorded.It is concluded that ICP monitoringis of utmost importance in the care of criticallyill neurologic and neurosurgical patients.