Increased intracranial pressure

Alternative names:

ICP; intracranial pressure - increased; intracranial hypertension

Definition:

A condition in which there is excessive pressure within the skull.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Increased intracranial pressure is extremely serious and can be life-threatening. High pressure in the cranium (skull) may lead to brain damage by reducing blood flow to the brain or by causing the brain to herniate (push through) the opening in the back of the skull where the spinal cord is attached. However, if treated aggressively and rapidly, injury can sometimes be avoided.

The most common cause of raised ICP is head trauma, which affects about 2 per 1000 people. Other conditions can lead to raised ICP by increasing the volume of the skull's contents, either through brain swelling or the addition of a mass in the form of blood, spinal fluid, or a tumor. Some causes of ICP are:

• severe head injury
• battered child syndrome
• subdural hematoma
• brain hemorrhage - bleeding within the brain
• meningitis
• encephalitis - inflammation of the brain
• lead poisoning
• Reye's syndrome
• hypervitaminosis A
• diabetic ketoacidosis
• water intoxication (psychogenic polydipsia)
• brain tumors
• brain abcesses (pus)
• stroke
• ADEM (Acute Disseminated EncephaloMyelitis) - a type of encephalitis caused by an allergic reaction to a viral infection or vaccination
• metabolic disorders
• hydrocephalus - a condition where the fluid pathways in the brain are blocked and spinal fluid accumulates
• sagittal sinus thrombosis - formation of a clot in a cavity on the inner surface of the skull

Update Date: 05/08/00
Lyle J. Dennis, MD Fellow in Critical Care Neurology and Epilepsy and Electroencephalography Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center VeriMed Healthcare Network