POLICIOS, SHARMAINE ANNE M.

3Y2 – 3A
Create a knowledge matrix on signs and symptoms of Increased ICP and their definition.
Following this format. (minimum of 5 signs and symptoms)
Signs or Symptoms of Increased ICP Definition or Description
This dangerous condition is called increased
intracranial pressure (ICP) and can lead to a
headache. Headache is pain in any region of
the head. Headaches may occur on one or both
sides of the head, be isolated to a certain
location, radiate across the head from one
point, or have a viselike quality.
A headache may appear as a sharp pain, a
Headache throbbing sensation or a dull ache.
Causes of this type of headache include: Too
much cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid around your
brain) A tumor causing pressure on some part
of your brain. Bleeding into the brain.
This kind of headache is an emergency and
requires immediate medical attention. The
sooner you get help, the more likely you are to
recover.
Vomiting, caused by increased ICP usually
occurs during the night or in the early morning,
but may occur at any time of the day, not
necessarily coincidental with headache; it is
often sudden, violent and without prelimi-
Vomiting
nary nausea.
Vomiting, or throwing up, is a forceful
discharge of stomach contents. It can be a one-
time event linked to something that doesn't
settle right in the stomach.
Visual symptoms due to elevated intracranial
pressure can range from grey spots that appear
briefly to blurred or double vision to
decreased contrast sensitivity and peripheral
field loss. They also include “dim-outs,” in
which vision is momentarily lost in one or
Blurred vision both eyes, as well as total blindness.
The high CSF pressure may cause the optic
nerves to swell (papilledema). The optic nerve
connects the interior of each eye, the retina, to
the vision centers of the brain. The optic nerve
transmits impulses from the retina to these
brain centers.
Confusion Increased ICP is when the pressure inside a

High blood pressure
Shallow breathing
Changes in your behavior
Weakness or problems with moving or
talking
Lack of energy or sleepiness
person's skull increases. When this happens
suddenly, it is a medical emergency. The most
common cause of high ICP is a blow to the
head. One of the main symptom is confusion.
Cushing triad is a clinical syndrome consisting
of hypertension, bradycardia and irregular
respiration and is a sign of impending brain
herniation. This occurs when the ICP is too
high the elevation of blood pressure is a reflex
mechanism to maintain CPP.
High blood pressure (hypertension) is a
common condition in which the long-term
force of the blood against your artery walls is
high enough that it may eventually cause
health problems, such as heart disease.
The rising systolic pressure results in widened
pulse pressures, bradycardia and
irregular breathing. As intracranial
pressure continues to increase, the patient's
heart rate will increase, breathing
will became shallow, periods of
apnea will occur, and blood pressure
will begin to fall.
Shallow breathing, or chest breathing is the
drawing of minimal breath into the lungs,
usually by drawing air into the chest area using
the intercostal muscles rather than throughout
the lungs via the diaphragm. Shallow
breathing can result in or be symptomatic of
rapid breathing and hypoventilation.
such as extreme irritability (ex. child is
cranky, cannot be consoled or comforted)
Weakness is a decrease in the strength in one
or more muscles. In the strictest sense,
the medical definition of weakness refers to
loss of muscle strength, and this article is
focused upon conditions that can result in a
measurable loss of muscle function.
Sleepiness is the desire to fall asleep.
It is sometimes referred to as drowsiness and
typically increases the longer we stay awake.