[Intracranial pressure monitoring and CSF dynamics in patients with neurological disorders: indications and practical considerations].

The study of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) dynamics is central to the diagnosis of adult chronic hydrocephalus (ACH). At present, many neurology and neurosurgery departments use one or more tests to guide diagnosis of this syndrome and to predict patient response to shunting. In specialised centres, the study of CSF dynamics is combined with continuous intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring. Determination of several variables of CSF dynamics and definitions of qualitative and quantitative characteristics of ICP can be used to establish whether the hydrocephalus is active, compensated or arrested. CSF dynamics and ICP monitoring can also be used to check the correct functioning of the shunt and can be of use in the clinical management of patients with pseudotumor cerebri. Moreover, ICP monitoring is used to guide the treatment of several acute neurological processes. The aim of this review is to describe the fundamentals of CSF dynamics studies and the bases of continuous ICP monitoring. The advantages and disadvantages of several hydrodynamic tests that can be performed by lumbar puncture, as well as the normal and abnormal characteristics of an ICP recording, are discussed.