Non-invasive intracranial pressure assessment in adult critically ill patients: A narrative review on current approaches and future perspectives

Abstract

Intracranial hypertension (IH) is a life-threatening complication that may occur after acute brain injury. Early recognition of IH allows prompt interventions that improve outcomes. Even if invasive intracranial monitoring is considered the gold standard for the most severely injured patients, scarce availability of resources, the need for advanced skills, and potential for complications often limit its utilization. On the other hand, different non-invasive methods to evaluate acutely brain-injured patients for elevated intracranial pressure have been investigated. Clinical examination and neuroradiology represent the cornerstone of a patient's evaluation in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, multimodal neuromonitoring, employing widely used different tools, such as brain ultrasound, automated pupillometry, and skull micro-deformation recordings, increase the possibility for continuous or semi-continuous intracranial pressure monitoring. Furthermore, artificial intelligence (AI) has been investigated to as a tool to predict elevated intracranial pressure, shedding light on new diagnostic and treatment horizons with the potential to improve patient outcomes. This narrative review, based on a systematic literature search, summarizes the best available evidence on the use of non-invasive monitoring tools and methods for the assessment of intracranial pressure.

Keywords: Acute brain injury; Automated pupillometry; Brain death; Intracranial hypertension; Non-invasive neuromonitoring; Transcranial doppler; Ultrasound.