Patient History: An 18-year-old man had an unintentional fall from a second story balcony. He had a Glasgow coma scale (GCS) of 5 (El, Vl, M3), normal blood pressure, and normal pulse rate in the emergency department. The patient was immediately intubated, and a brain CT scan revealed linear skull fractures, bilateral frontal lobe contusions, intraparenchymal hematoma, and diffuse cerebral swelling. The neurosurgeon determined that these injuries do not warrant surgical treatment at this time.
A ventriculostomy drain was placed in the ICU for monitoring and revealed intracranial pressure (ICP) of 26 mm Hg. What is the primary goal in the management of this patient? *This patient case is from Docplexus Editorial Team for educative purposes only. Source: Cases Files Critical Care The answers are posted in the comments section Click here .
