High intracranial pressure (ICP) is a dangerous medical condition that requires immediate attention and can be caused by head trauma, infections, strokes, brain tumors, or aneurysms. Symptoms include headaches, sleepiness, nausea, vomiting, and changes in behavior. Treatment options include medication, inducing a coma, or creating a shunt. Hospitalization and treatment of underlying conditions are necessary for recovery. Time is of the essence to prevent permanent brain damage.
High intracranial pressure (ICP) is an urgent and very dangerous medical situation that requires immediate attention. Most of the time, people who suffer from this already experience severe symptoms, although the condition could come on suddenly due to traumatic brain injury or a blown aneurysm. Actual pressure, when taken on its own, is no more dangerous than the term blood pressure. It’s a measurement of pressure in the brain, and people have acceptable amounts of it when they’re healthy, just like there are healthy blood pressure levels. However, when the pressure rises beyond a certain point, it poses a great threat to the brain and could lead to severe brain injury and/or death.
Given the potential severity of elevated intracranial pressure, people with suspected head injuries or any form of brain injury may be observed in a hospital setting to see if medical intervention is needed. There are several ways to monitor pressure in the brain, including through special catheters. No treatment may be needed if ICP does not increase, particularly after a head injury or brain surgery, but this scenario could change rapidly if intracranial pressure increases dramatically.
There are many potential causes of ICP. Head trauma can be a clear example in which this situation is feared. Infections of the brain such as from encephalitis or meningitis, water on the brain or hydrocephalus, and strokes can also increase the risk of raised intracranial pressure. Brain tumors or aneurysms are other risk factors.
In the early stages, symptoms of increased intracranial pressure might include headaches, extreme sleepiness, nausea and vomiting, and unexplained changes in how a person acts. As pressure increases, it pushes on structures in the brain and more frequently will result in unconsciousness/coma. This may or may not be accompanied by seizures. Sometimes in children a higher ICP is noted due to protruding soft points and this should always be a symptom treated very seriously.
Doctors have ways to treat many cases of increased intracranial pressure. Anyone who enjoys medical shows on television would assume that this means drilling holes in the head or removing parts of the skull in what’s called a decompressive craniectomy. This may or may not be required, and doctors have other options first, including the use of medications that can reduce pressure, induce a coma if needed, or create a shunt to allow fluid buildup to exit.
These procedures do not necessarily mean that a patient is completely cured. Hospitalization is typically required for some time, any underlying conditions must be treated, and the degree of increase in intracranial pressure may have some effect on brain recovery. It can be said that time is of the essence when dealing with this condition, due to its potential for permanent brain damage. Outcome is individualized, depending on the degree of time in which the heightened state of pressure existed, the success of the interventions, and the ability to effectively treat the underlying causes.
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