The complexity of intracranial pressure as an indicator of cerebral autoregulation

Abstract

Intracranial Pressure (ICP) is one of the main neuromonitories used today to guide the treatment of acute neurological patients in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Within this article the complexity of periods of intracranial hypertension is evaluated and compared with periods of stable intracranial tension. Using the multiparameter intelligent monitoring in intensive care III (MIMIC-III) database from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center the complexity of periods of stable intracranial tension and high intracranial hypertension are evaluated using two quantifiers: the Permutation Entropy and their respective number of missing patterns. Both indicate a loss of complexity in hypertension signals. A physiological explanation of this loss of complexity is given using a dynamical model of the Cerebral Autoregulation and Cerebral Hemodynamics.