Infra- and Supratentorial Neuromonitoring

Plain-language summary

Invasive neuromonitoring of intracranial pressure (ICP) is an important element of neurosurgical critical care that is used primarily as an indicator of adequate cerebral perfusion in patients, when clinical observation is not an option. Due to the constraint in size and the critical structures within the posterior fossa, detection of intracranial pressure particularly in the postoperative phase has been deemed desirable in patients with surgery in this region, particularly in those subjected to prolonged procedures and critical care. The posterior fossa is an anatomically constricted compartment with narrow spaces and intracranial hypertension quickly leads to brainstem damage and neurological dysfunction. ICP in the supratentorial space not necessarily correlates with ICP in the infratentorial space. Some authors claim that it would be beneficial to measure ICP in infratentorial space after posterior fossa surgery in some cases. The relationship between the intracranial pressure profiles in the supratentorial and infratentorial compartments remain unclear. After a neurosurgical operation in the posterior fossa there are most likely pressure differences between supra- and infratentorial spaces. It is well known that the pressure within the skull is unevenly distributed, with appreciable ICP gradients. Thus, the investigators intend to apply the intracranial multimodal monitoring in both infratentorial and supratentorial compartments simultaneously. Such coincident measurements most likely will be the most sensitive way to assess focal swelling, ischemia and tissue perfusion, or other relevant complications in the posterior fossa structures. The goal of this study is to test whether direct infratentorial monitoring is a more efficacious method for detecting dynamic changes in the operative compartment and whether it is safe, in view of the critical structures within the region.

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