Turkish Neurosurgery 2025 , Vol 35 , Num 1
Analysis of Intracranial Compliance Through Noninvasive Intracranial Pressure Waveforms in Hydrocephalus Patients. A Pilot Study
Raphael BERTANI1,Stefan KOESTER2,Caio PERRET3,Paulo Santa MARIA3,Sérgio BRASIL4,Gustavo FRIGIERI5,Sávio BATISTA6,Nicolas Nunes RABELLO4,Ruy MONTEIRO3
1University of São Paulo, Department of Neurosurgery, SP, Brazil
2Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA
3Hospital Municipal Miguel Couto, Department of Neurosurgery, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
4University of São Paulo, Department of Neurology, Division of Neurosurgery, SP, Brazil
5University of São Paulo, School of Medicine, Medical Investigation Laboratory 62, SP, Brazil
6Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Faculty of Medicine, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
DOI : 10.5137/1019-5149.JTN.45668-23.2 AIM: To assess the changes of intracranial pressure waveforms (ICPW) acquired noninvasively in a set of acute hydrocephalus patients prior to and posterior to interventions.

MATERIAL and METHODS: Patients with clinical and radiological diagnosis of hydrocephalus were evaluated for alterations in ICPW by means of a system that detects cranial micro expansions just before and immediately after interventions. The system quantified the difference between ICPW peaks (P1 and P2), providing the P2/P1 ratio.

RESULTS: Fourteen patients aged from 26 to 73 years old met the inclusion criteria. Hydrocephalus etiologies were normal pressure hydrocephalus, post-traumatic and all patients had an abnormal intracranial compliance waveform, with P2>P1 before the procedure (5 external ventricular drains (EVD) and 9 ventriculoperitoneal shunts (VPS). Immediately after, 75% of the patients changed to a standard pattern with P1>P2.

CONCLUSION: In this exploratory study using a novel noninvasive technique, rapid cerebrospinal fluid drainage by means of EVD and VPS was effectively assessed and had a positive impact on intracranial compliance. Keywords : Hydrocephalus, Intracranial pressure, Noninvasive, Brain compliance

Corresponding author : Raphael BERTANI, contato@rbertani.com