Nursing Care and Intracranial Pressure Monitoring

Nursing interventions can positively or negatively affect intracranial pressure (ICP). Nurses have a unique opportunity to manage patient care in order to decrease elevated ICP and prevent secondary brain injury. However, patients also must be diligently monitored for secondary effects such as ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) and skin breakdown. It becomes a delicate balance to maintain brain function while helping to prevent other secondary injury.

The following are AACN Practice Alerts relating to VAP with additional monitoring tools:

For additional help e-mail the AACN Practice Resource Network: practice@aacn.org.