Serial Optic Nerve Sheath Diameter via Radiographic Imaging

OBJECTIVE: Evaluation of optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD) is a suggested correlation of intracranial pressure (ICP) and potential predictor of outcome after neurologic injury. Studies have evaluated sonographic measurement of ONSD; however, clinical limitations to this approach persist. Evaluation of ONSD measurements via routine brain CT imaging is less studied but offers potential for detection of increased ICP in the absence of invasive monitoring. Previous studies have used cross-sectional approaches to ONSD measurements via CT scan among patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). No studies have evaluated serial correlations between CT ONSD measurements and ICP throughout hospitalization and across diagnosis types. The objective of this study was to investigate correlations between ONSD via serial CT imaging, ICP, and outcome at discharge among patients with neurologic injury. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study of all adult patients admitted during a 12-month period with acute neurologic injury requiring ICP monitoring and critical care admission. RESULTS: < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Findings contribute to the utility of CT ONSD measurements as a potential indicator of increased ICP. Measurement of ONSD during serial CT brain imaging may inform clinical decisions regarding need for more invasive monitoring after neurologic injury.