NONINVASIVE MEASUREMENT OF INTRACRANIAL-PRESSURE IN THE NEWBORN AND THE INFANT - THE ROTTERDAM TELETRANSDUCER

Knowledge of intracranial pressure may be important in many clinical s ituations in neonates and young infants. The best way to obtain this i nformation would be a non-traumatic procedure. In order to test the re liability of a new fontanometer, the Rotterdam teletransducer, 25 simu ltaneous measurements of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure and anteri or fontanelle pressure (AFP) were performed. Mean (SD) difference betw een CSF pressure and AFP was -0.2 (1.8) mm Hg (95% confidence interval from -0.48 to -0.88 mm Hg). The AFP was also measured in 60 healthy c hildren (15 premature, 30 term newborn babies, and 15 infants). The di fferent aspects of AFP were analysed and normal values computed. These results suggest that the Rotterdam teletransducer gives reliable cont inuous information about intracranial pressure and can be used in clin ical practice. Interpretation of AFP plots must take the influence of postconceptional age and the physiological occurrence of pressure wave s into account.