High dose barbiturates in non-traumatic brain swelling: ICP reduction and effect on outcome.

High dose barbiturates were used to treat intracranial hypertension in 15 patients with nontraumatic brain lesions; (3 hypertensive hemorrhage, 4 subarachnoid hemorrhage, 5 infarction, 2 global anoxia-ischemia and 2 encephalitis). All had persistently raised intracranial pressure (ICP) while being treated with aggressive conventional therapy. The addition of barbiturates caused an initial lowering of ICP in 11 patients, but only 5 of these had sustained ICP reductions. Survival of the 5 patients with persistently lowered ICP and death of the remaining 10 may indicate an improvement in outcome attributable to the addition of high dose barbiturates to conventional therapy in non-traumatic brain swelling. Because of the resources required for their prolonged use, randomized studied in patients with intracranial hypertension are required to determine the effect of barbiturates on outcome.