Skip Navigation


BJA Advance Access originally published online on May 12, 2006
British Journal of Anaesthesia 2006 97(1):26-38; doi:10.1093/bja/ael110
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
97/1/26    most recent
ael110v1
Right arrow E-Letters: Submit a response to the article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (7)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Steiner, L. A.
Right arrow Articles by Andrews, P. J. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Steiner, L. A.
Right arrow Articles by Andrews, P. J. D.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?


© The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia 2006. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Monitoring the injured brain: ICP and CBF

L. A. Steiner1,* and P. J. D. Andrews2

1 Surgical Intensive Care Unit, Department of Anaesthesia, University Hospital Basel CH-4031 Basel, Switzerland
2 Department of Anaesthetics, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, University of Edinburgh and Western General Hospital Crewe Road, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, Scotland, UK

*Corresponding author. E-mail: lsteiner{at}uhbs.ch

Raised intracranial pressure (ICP) and low cerebral blood flow (CBF) are associated with ischaemia and poor outcome after brain injury. Therefore, many management protocols target these parameters. This overview summarizes the technical aspects of ICP and CBF monitoring, and their role in the clinical management of brain-injured patients. Furthermore, some applications of these methods in current research are highlighted. ICP is typically measured using probes that are inserted into one of the lateral ventricles or the brain parenchyma. Therapeutic measures used to control ICP have relevant side-effects and continuous monitoring is essential to guide such therapies. ICP is also required to calculate cerebral perfusion pressure which is one of the most important therapeutic targets in brain-injured patients. Several bedside CBF monitoring devices are available. However, most do not measure CBF but rather a parameter that is thought to be proportional to CBF. Frequently used methods include transcranial Doppler which measures blood flow velocity and may be helpful for the diagnosis and monitoring of cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid haemorrhage or jugular bulb oximetry which gives information on adequacy of CBF in relation to the metabolic demand of the brain. However, there is no clear evidence that incorporating data from CBF monitors into our management strategies improves outcome in brain-injured patients.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Anesth. Analg.Home page
H. White and B. Venkatesh
Cerebral Perfusion Pressure in Neurotrauma: A Review
Anesth. Analg., September 1, 2008; 107(3): 979 - 988.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Anesth. Analg.Home page
M. Smith
Monitoring Intracranial Pressure in Traumatic Brain Injury
Anesth. Analg., January 1, 2008; 106(1): 240 - 248.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Br J AnaesthHome page
M. Smith and R. P. Mahajan
Clinical neuroscience: relevance to current practice
Br. J. Anaesth., July 1, 2007; 99(1): 1 - 3.
[Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Br J AnaesthHome page
C. Werner and K. Engelhard
Pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury
Br. J. Anaesth., July 1, 2007; 99(1): 4 - 9.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Br J AnaesthHome page
J. P. Thompson and R. P. Mahajan
Monitoring the monitors--beyond risk management.
Br. J. Anaesth., July 1, 2006; 97(1): 1 - 3.
[Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.