Intracranial pressure--basic concepts and management.

The basic concept of Intracranial Pressure and its elivation in pathological conditions is discussed. The e&ects of Barbiturates, Corticosteroids, Furosamide, man-nitol, urea hyperventilation and hypothermia are mentioned. Experimental data from the published literature are reported. The brain, by virtue of the fact that it is encased in a container with rigid walls, is unique among the organs of the human body. The resultant restricted ability of the intracranial contents to expand implies that the intracranial pressure (ICP) is a parameter of great importance for intracranial hemodynamics (Krayenbuhl, 1974). This inter-relation between ICP and intracranial hemodynamics is directly related to the cerebral (blood flow (CBF), as expressed in this equation: SAP-ICP CBF = K--------------(Krayenbuhl, 1974) CVR SAP-Systemic Arterial Pressure CVR.-Cerebral Vascular Resistance