The purpose of this study is to use transcranial Doppler (TCD) to predict intracranial pressure (ICP) and clinical outcome of neurocritical patients.

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) and Transcranial color-coded duplex sonography (TCCS) play an important part in neurocritical monitoring systems. Currently there are studies using flow velocities and pulsatility index (PI) to predict intracranial pressure (ICP) and clinical outcome. But the use of B-mode in such prediction is not yet investigated. The purposes of this study are to establish the correlation among clinical data, CT findings and information collected by TCCS, and to predict ICP and neurological outcome using such information. The focus would be on 3rd ventricle size, midline shift and anteroposterior-transverse ration of midbrain (midbrain index) obtained by B-mode of TCCS. This study is a prospective clinical study targeting on 30 neurocritical patients admitted to intensive care units in one year. The timing of performance of TCCS will be (1) within 6 hours after admission, (2) within 6 hours after each CT examination, and (3) when ICP is higher than 20 mmHg for more than 5 minutes. Glasgow coma scale (GCS), heart rate, blood pressure (systolic, diastolic, and mean), body temperature, central venous pressure (CVP), brain temperature, ICP, cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP), mean velocity (MV) of bilateral middle cerebral arteries (MCAs), PI, midline shift, 3rd ventricular dimension, anteroposterior to transverse ratio of midbrain (midbrain index, MI) are recorded. The latter three parameters are also obtained from CT scans, and compared with those obtained from TCCS. Outcome is evaluated with extended Glasgow outcome scale (GOSE), and analyzed with previous records. This study is going to prove that TCCS is a safe, convenient, real-time and cheap tool in clinical care for neurocritical patients. It also provides prediction of ICP and clinical outcome.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Aged 16 to 80 years
• Neurocritical patient (head injury, hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, etc.) who was admitted to intensive care unit and had undergone intracranial pressure monitoring

Exclusion Criteria:

• associated with multiple organ impairment or failure
• single organ failure prior to neurocritical condition, such as cardiac, hepatic, or renal failure
• associated with severe infection or sepsis

Patients admitted via emergency room for neurosurgical emergency, such as trauma, stroke, etc.