Noninvasive monitoring intracranial pressure – A review of available modalities

BACKGROUND: Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is important in many neurosurgical and neurological patients. The gold standard for monitoring ICP, however, is via an invasive procedure resulting in the placement of an intraventricular catheter, which is associated with many risks. Several noninvasive ICP monitoring techniques have been examined with the hope to replace the invasive techniques. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of all modalities that have been used for noninvasive ICP monitoring to date. METHODS: A thorough literature search was conducted on PubMed, selected articles were reviewed in completion, and pertinent data was included in the review. RESULTS: A total of 94 publications were reviewed, and we found that over the past few decades clinicians have attempted to use a number of modalities to monitor ICP noninvasively. CONCLUSION: Although the intraventricular catheter remains the gold standard for monitoring ICP, several noninvasive modalities that can be used in settings when invasive monitoring is not possible are also available. In our opinion, measurement of optic nerve sheath diameter and pupillometry are the two modalities which may prove to be valid options for centers not performing invasive ICP monitoring.