Volume 24, Issue 102, March - April, 2020

Intracranial pressure monitoring complications at a major tertiary Hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Rana Al-Bassam^1♦, Hanin Al Suwailem², Layla Zaeim³, Babar Kahlon⁴

¹Medical Intern, Dar AlUloom University, Riyadh, Olaya, Email: albassam160@gmail.com
²Medical Intern, Dar AlUloom University, Ash shifa, Email: haneen.ihs0@gmail.com
³Medical Intern, Dar AlUloom University, Riyadh, Sulaimaniya, Email: laylazaeim95@hotmail.com
⁴Chairman, Department of Neurosurgery, King Saud Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Email: b.mustafa@ksmc.med.sa

^♦Corresponding author
Medical Intern, Dar AlUloom University, Riyadh, Olaya, Saudi Arabia Email: albassam160@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Background: Intractable elevated intracranial pressure can lead to mortality or irreversible neurological brain damage. Thus, monitoring of intracranial pressure becomes a necessity in many traumatic and non-traumatic brain lesions. Potential risks and complications of monitoring include bleeding, bacterial infections, and injury due to probe misplacement. Objective: to identify and assess the complications related to intraparenchymal transducer intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring at King Saud Medical City (KSMC) in Riyadh, KSA. Design: This is a retrospective cohort study. Setting: the neurosurgery department at King Saud Medical City (KSMC). Patients (Materials) and Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study, which was performed from January 2016 until December 2018. Patients were recruited from the neurosurgery department at King Saud Medical City (KSMC). The patients were 14 years of age and older and used an intraparenchymal transducer ICP monitoring device during their admission. The collection sheet covered the following topics: socio-demographic variables, age at admission, gender, chronic diseases, indications, CT diagnosis and complications associated with intraparenchymal transducer ICP monitoring devices, GCS score at admission and discharge, and whether there Main Outcome Measures: complication rates due to ICP transducer monitoring. Sample size: 106 patients. Results: A total of 88.7% of patients did not have any complications. However, at the surgical site of intraparenchymal ICP monitoring insertion, 7.5% of patients developed wound infections, 1.9% of patients developed leakage, and 0.9% of patients developed both wound infections and leakage. Conclusion: The complication rates due to ICP transducer monitoring were low. Specifically, 88.7% of the patients did not have any complication, whereas 10.3% of the patients showed minor complications without serious consequences. These complications were treated immediately after they were diagnosed. Limitations: no limitation. Conflict of interest: Authors have no conflict of interest.

Keywords: ICP, monitoring devices, complications

Medical Science, 2020, 24(102), 533-540

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