This article, “Effect of Mechanical Chest Percussion on Intracranial Pressure: A Pilot Study,” by Olson and colleagues, sought to determine the effect of mechanical chest percussion on intracranial pressure (ICP) in a total of 38 patients who had at least 1 documented episode of ICP and who were having intracranial pressure monitoring. A randomized study design was used to assign patients to either the control group, which had no chest percussion, or the intervention group, which had 10 minutes of chest percussion conducted. Intracranial pressure was recorded once a minute before, during, and after the chest percussion intervention, which was standardized as 10 minutes of automated percussion with the head of the bed elevated 30°. Mean values of intracranial pressure were compared between groups. A slight increase in ICP values over time was observed in both the control and intervention groups, but no difference was found between the groups.

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