Intracranial Hypertension and Intra-abdominal Pressure. Is it Worth Measuring?

Abstract

Patients with refractory intracranial hypertension who have already undergone all the measures recommended by the current guidelines can benefit from having their intra-abdominal pressure monitored since its increase generates hemodynamic repercussions and secondary elevation of intracranial pressure. In this context, a bibliographic research was performed on PubMed with the terms intra-abdominal pressure, abdominal compartment syndrome, intracranial pressure, intracranial hypertension. Altogether, 146 articles were observed, 87 of which were from the year 2000, and only 15 articles were considered relevant to the topic. These studies indicate that patients with refractory intracranial hypertension can benefit from the measurement of intraabdominal pressure, since there is evidence that an increase in this pressure leads to organic dysfunctions with an indirect impact on cerebral venous return and, consequently, an increase in intracranial pressure. In those who underwent decompression laparotomy, direct effects were observed in reducing intracranial hypertension and survival.

Keywords

• intra-abdominal pressure
• abdominal compartment syndrome
• intracranial pressure
• intracranial hypertension