CLINICAL-EVALUATION OF A NEW EPIDURAL PRESSURE MONITOR

Comparative measuring of epidural pressure using the Spiegelberg probe 1 and ventricular fluid pressure was carried out in 15 neurosurgical intensive-care patients. Deviations in both directions were establishe d, with a trend toward overestimating ventricular pressure in epidural pressure measuring (r = 0.77). Individual pulsations, spontaneous wav e courses and therapy-induced pressure changes were reflected without delays. There were no complications observed with probe implantation p eriods for up to 6 days. The system has been shown to be mechanically stable and easy to implant. We believe the device to be fit for trend monitoring of intracranial pressure. As with other epidural pressure m onitoring systems, false assessments of ventricular pressure may lead to wrong decisions as to the required therapy.