Evaluation of Intracranial Pressure in Different Body Postures and Disease Entities

Abstract

We currently do not have sufficient knowledge regarding appropriate boundaries between "normal" and "abnormal" intracranial pressure (ICP) in humans. Our objective in this study was to quantify the effects of postural changes on ICP in normal and ill subjects. As a model for normal patients, we included adult patients scheduled for complete removal of a solitary, clearly demarcated, small brain tumor and performed long-term ICP monitoring using a telemetric device. The ill subjects included required invasive ICP monitoring as part of their diagnostic workup or monitoring of the effect of shunt treatment at our department. All patients were included prospectively for a session of monitored changes in body posture. In our preliminary results from 19 patients, we were able to statistically distinguish between patient groups and assumed body postures, highlighting the need for the further characterization of the effects of postural changes on ICP to inform diagnostic and therapeutic decisions.

Keywords: Hydrocephalus; Idiopathic intracranial hypertension; Normal values; Reference range.