Noninvasive Intracranial Pressure Monitoring in Chronic Stroke Patients with Sedentary Behavior: A Pilot Study.

Abstract

This study aimed to correlate the P2/P1 ratio of intracranial pressure waveforms with sedentary behavior during the chronic stage of stroke. Eight patients from São Carlos, Brazil, who had hemiparesis and stroke onset within the previous 6months, participated in this study. To monitor their intracranial pressure, we used noninvasive Brain4Care® intracranial pressure monitoring during a postural change maneuver involving 15 min in a supine position and 15 min in an orthostatic position. The patients' sedentary behavior was continually monitored at home using a StepWatch Activity Monitor™ for 1week. Moreover, the patients completed the International Physical Activity Questionnaire before and after using the StepWatch Activity Monitor™. In the supine and orthostatic positions, the P2/P1 ratios were 0.84±0.14 and 0.98±0.17, respectively. The percentage of time spent in inactivity was 71±11%, and the number of steps walked per day was 4220±2239. We found a high positive correlation (r=0.881, p=0.004) between the P2/P1 ratio and the percentage of time spent in inactivity. This preliminary study showed a correlation between sedentary behavior and cerebral compliance. Thus, monitoring of intracranial pressure during the late stage of a stroke could guide the clinician's treatment to reduce sedentary behavior and the risks of recurrent stroke and cardiovascular diseases.