The impact of raised intracranial pressure on cerebral venous hemodynamics: a prospective venous transcranial Doppler ultrasonography study

Object. The effect of increased intracranial pressure (ICP) on cerebral ven ous blood now has been the subject of very few clinical and experimental st udies. The authors assessed the usefulness of venous transcranial Doppler ( TCD) ultrasonography as a noninvasive monitoring tool for predicting raised ICP. Methods. Serial venous TCD studies of the basal vein of Rosenthal and the s traight sinus (SS) were prospectively performed in 30 control volunteers an d 25 patients with raised ICP. Correlations with ICP data were calculated u sing a multivariate regression model. Venous blood flow velocities (BFVs) i n the basal vein of Rosenthal showed, within a certain range, a linear rela tionship between mean ICP and maximal venous BFV (r = 0.645; p < 0.002). Mo reover, a linear relationship was found for maximal venous BFVs in the SS a nd mean ICP (r = 0.928; p < 0.0003). Conclusions. Venous TCD studies may provide an additional noninvasive monit oring tool for raised ICP and give further insights into the cerebral venou s hemodynamics present during raised ICP.