[Acute rise of intracranial pressure--one of the causes of disorders of systemic circulation in meningococcal lesions of the central nervous system].

Tetrapolar chest rheography was used to study the central hemodynamics in 110 patients with meningococcal meningitides. Of these, in 86 patients, meningitis was combined with coccemia. The hyperkinetic type prevailed with a simultaneous decrease of the rate of the normo- and hyperkinetic types as compared with the distribution of the circulation types in healthy persons. It has been shown that the main cause of the development of the hypokinetic type of circulation manifesting itself in the rise of the total peripheral resistance and lowering of myocardial contractility lies in acute rise of intracranial pressure at the expense of the development of acute hydrocephalus and/or brain edema. Favouring intracranial pressure reduction decompression of the subarachnoidal space by lumbar puncture brings about a decline of the peripheral resistance, i.e. of afterload, and a rise of myocardial contractility. Detoxication and therapy of brain edema with the aid of the hypervolemic version of forced diuresis performed by means of intravenous injection of hyperosmotic solutions (rheopolyglucin, concentrated solutions of albumin, glucose) at a rate of 100 ml within 30 to 40 minutes promote the growth of intracranial pressure, elevation of the peripheral resistance and reduction of myocardial contractility.