Background: Central vein pressure depends on intracranial pressure (ICP). Baurmann in 1925 therefore recommended measuring central vein pressure to determine ICP, but the accuracy of this method has not yet been verified. To test the method we measured venous outflow pressure (VOP) by noninvasive ophthalmodynamometry (ODM).
Methods and materials: We studied 31 patients with suspected increased ICP. ICP was recorded continuously for a minimum of 24 h by intraventricular catheters, and ODM was performed during ICP measurement. The findings were compared with the results of conventional invasive ICP measurement.
Results: Pressure in the central retinal vein was highly correlated with ICP.
Conclusion: Measuring VOP by ODM seems to be a reliable method for noninvasive recording of ICP. It is a useful screening test in all cases of presumed ICP elevation.