ABSTRACT
Elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) is a serious disorder in veterinary patients that if left untreated, can lead to permanent neurologic dysfunction, coma, and death. Treatment of veterinary patients with elevated ICP needs to be directed at the primary disease as well as the intracranial hypertension itself. The balance between the enclosing rigid skull and the normal intracranial structures determines the ICP. In acute intracranial hypertension, the CSF may be displaced to the spinal subarachnoid space or undergo hastened reabsorption, while with slower or chronic ICP elevation, CSF production may actually be reduced. Intracranial pressure can be elevated with expansion of any of the 3 intracranial compartments: brain tissue, vascular space, and CSF space. With expansion of a particular compartment within the herniation of the brain parenchyma is often a fatal consequence. A direct sympathetic response originates from the brain stem and leads to an elevated heart rate and intense systemic arterial vasoconstriction in order to maintain adequate cerebral blood flow.
