Correlation of Different Non-Invasive Neuromonitoring Tools Assessing Intracranial Hemodynamics

Background: Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is crucial in managing acute brain injury (ABI) to prevent secondary brain injury. While invasive techniques remain the gold standard, they can carry notable risks, such as infection and hemorrhage. Non-invasive techniques are increasingly used, but...

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Main Authors: Rossella Zangari, Luca D’Amelio, Elisa Gouvea Bogossian, Fabio Silvio Taccone
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Brain Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/7/710
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author Rossella Zangari
Luca D’Amelio
Elisa Gouvea Bogossian
Fabio Silvio Taccone
author_facet Rossella Zangari
Luca D’Amelio
Elisa Gouvea Bogossian
Fabio Silvio Taccone
author_sort Rossella Zangari
collection DOAJ
description Background: Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is crucial in managing acute brain injury (ABI) to prevent secondary brain injury. While invasive techniques remain the gold standard, they can carry notable risks, such as infection and hemorrhage. Non-invasive techniques are increasingly used, but their inter-modality correlation and concordance have not been systematically evaluated. This study aimed to assess the correlation and concordance among four commonly used non-invasive neuromonitoring tools in patients with ABI undergoing invasive ICP monitoring. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of prospectively collected data from 100 adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit with traumatic brain injury (TBI), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) who underwent invasive ICP monitoring. Simultaneous assessments using optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD), transcranial Doppler-derived pulsatility index (PI), estimated ICP (eICP), and the neurological pupil index (NPi) were performed. Correlation between modalities was assessed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient (ρ), and concordance was evaluated with Cohen’s kappa coefficient (k). Results: We found weak correlations between ONSD and PI (ρ = 0.29), ONSD and NPi (ρ = −0.33), and PI and NPi (ρ = −0.33); moderate correlations between ONSD and eICP (ρ = 0.54) and PI and eICP (ρ = 0.48); and a strong inverse correlation between eICP and NPi (ρ = −0.71; all <i>p</i> < 0.05). Concordance was generally low, with the highest agreement between PI and eICP (k = 0.69). Most other tool pairings showed poor-to-fair concordance (k ≤ 0.30). Conclusions: Non-invasive neuromonitoring tools show variable correlation and limited agreement, suggesting they are not interchangeable. Each modality captures different aspects of cerebral physiology, supporting the use of a multimodal approach to improve accuracy in ICP estimation.
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spelling doaj-art-b643db8f77a24e24a9efcd349fdac04b2025-08-20T03:58:26ZengMDPI AGBrain Sciences2076-34252025-06-0115771010.3390/brainsci15070710Correlation of Different Non-Invasive Neuromonitoring Tools Assessing Intracranial HemodynamicsRossella Zangari0Luca D’Amelio1Elisa Gouvea Bogossian2Fabio Silvio Taccone3Department of Intensive Care and Emergency, Spedali Civili di Brescia, Università degli Studi di Brescia, 25121 Brescia, ItalyDepartment of Intensive Care, Route de Lennik, Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 808, 1070 Brussels, BelgiumDepartment of Intensive Care, Route de Lennik, Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 808, 1070 Brussels, BelgiumDepartment of Intensive Care, Route de Lennik, Erasme Hospital, Université Libre de Bruxelles, 808, 1070 Brussels, BelgiumBackground: Intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is crucial in managing acute brain injury (ABI) to prevent secondary brain injury. While invasive techniques remain the gold standard, they can carry notable risks, such as infection and hemorrhage. Non-invasive techniques are increasingly used, but their inter-modality correlation and concordance have not been systematically evaluated. This study aimed to assess the correlation and concordance among four commonly used non-invasive neuromonitoring tools in patients with ABI undergoing invasive ICP monitoring. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of prospectively collected data from 100 adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit with traumatic brain injury (TBI), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) who underwent invasive ICP monitoring. Simultaneous assessments using optic nerve sheath diameter (ONSD), transcranial Doppler-derived pulsatility index (PI), estimated ICP (eICP), and the neurological pupil index (NPi) were performed. Correlation between modalities was assessed using Spearman’s correlation coefficient (ρ), and concordance was evaluated with Cohen’s kappa coefficient (k). Results: We found weak correlations between ONSD and PI (ρ = 0.29), ONSD and NPi (ρ = −0.33), and PI and NPi (ρ = −0.33); moderate correlations between ONSD and eICP (ρ = 0.54) and PI and eICP (ρ = 0.48); and a strong inverse correlation between eICP and NPi (ρ = −0.71; all <i>p</i> < 0.05). Concordance was generally low, with the highest agreement between PI and eICP (k = 0.69). Most other tool pairings showed poor-to-fair concordance (k ≤ 0.30). Conclusions: Non-invasive neuromonitoring tools show variable correlation and limited agreement, suggesting they are not interchangeable. Each modality captures different aspects of cerebral physiology, supporting the use of a multimodal approach to improve accuracy in ICP estimation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/7/710acute brain injuryintracranial hypertensioncerebral blood flowcerebral perfusion pressuretranscranial Doppler ultrasonographyneuromonitoring
spellingShingle Rossella Zangari
Luca D’Amelio
Elisa Gouvea Bogossian
Fabio Silvio Taccone
Correlation of Different Non-Invasive Neuromonitoring Tools Assessing Intracranial Hemodynamics
Brain Sciences
acute brain injury
intracranial hypertension
cerebral blood flow
cerebral perfusion pressure
transcranial Doppler ultrasonography
neuromonitoring
title Correlation of Different Non-Invasive Neuromonitoring Tools Assessing Intracranial Hemodynamics
title_full Correlation of Different Non-Invasive Neuromonitoring Tools Assessing Intracranial Hemodynamics
title_fullStr Correlation of Different Non-Invasive Neuromonitoring Tools Assessing Intracranial Hemodynamics
title_full_unstemmed Correlation of Different Non-Invasive Neuromonitoring Tools Assessing Intracranial Hemodynamics
title_short Correlation of Different Non-Invasive Neuromonitoring Tools Assessing Intracranial Hemodynamics
title_sort correlation of different non invasive neuromonitoring tools assessing intracranial hemodynamics
topic acute brain injury
intracranial hypertension
cerebral blood flow
cerebral perfusion pressure
transcranial Doppler ultrasonography
neuromonitoring
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/15/7/710
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