The Cushing reflex and the vasopressin-mediated hemodynamic response to increased intracranial pressure during acute elevations in intraabdominal pressure

What Was Tested

Researchers studied Vasopressin in this observational study publication.

In this study, the researchers sought to investigate any direct association between acute elevations in intra-abdominal pressure and intracranial hypertension during experimentally induced abdominal compartment syndrome and between acutely elevated intracranial pressure and the hemodynamic response that might be elicited by a vasopressin-induced Cushing reflex affecting urine osmolality and urine output.

The aim of this study is to explain the Cushing reflex and the vasopressin-mediated hemodynamic response to intracranial pressure during acute elevations in intra-abdominal pressure.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 16 patients were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as adults and middle-aged adults, both men and women.

The researchers measured intra-abdominal pressure, intrathoracic pressure, optic nerve sheath diameter as an indirect sign of intracranial pressure, vasopressin levels in blood, urine osmolality, and urine output at 4 time points during surgery in 16 patients undergoing sleeve gastrectomy for morbid obesity.

How the Study Was Run

Values for the 4 time points were compared by repeated-measures analysis of variance.

What Was Measured

Topics PubMed links to this paper include Intra-Abdominal Hypertension, Intracranial Hypertension, Intracranial Pressure, Optic Nerve, Pneumoperitoneum, Artificial, Ultrasonography and Vasopressins.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is an observational study of Vasopressin in 16 patients.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 3 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2020 (Surgery), a journal based in United States.

More context: the Vasopressin compound page, all human trials.