Quality and safety of home ICP monitoring compared with in-hospital monitoring

Abstract

Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is usually conducted in-hospital using stationary devices. Modern mobile ICP monitoring systems present new monitoring possibilities more closely following the patients' daily life. We reviewed patient safety, quality of technical data, and adequacy for clinical evaluation in ICP monitoring in the home setting versus in-hospital monitoring. Methods: Patients were divided into two subgroups (home or hospital monitoring). We noted technical curve quality and clinically useful parameters for both subgroups. Results: Forty-four patients (aged 1-55 years) were included in this survey, with 50 sessions (home/in-hospital monitoring: 21/29). No difference was found in technical curve quality by comparing number of interruptions (p = 0.22), percentage of measurement duration with valid curve (p = 0.57), or the ability to perform adequate clinical evaluation of the data (p = 0.52). No clinically detectable complications were encountered in either group. Conclusion: We propose home ICP monitoring as a feasible and safe alternative to in-hospital monitoring in select cases where the patient's caregiver - with prior meticulous instructions - can adequately observe the patient during the monitoring session.