Dynamic changes of the intraocular pressure and the pressure of cerebrospinal fluid in nonglaucomatous neurological patients.

PURPOSE: To describe the dynamic changes of the intraocular pressure (IOP) and intracranial pressure (ICP) with normal or pathological values (intracranial hypertension) in nonglaucomatous neurological patients during lumbar punction (LP).

METHODS: Case-control study, prospective measurement of tonometry in both groups referred for LP. Intraocular pressure, ICP and translaminar pressure difference (TPD) were compared pre- and post-LP.

RESULTS: Thirty-six patients (72 eyes) with mean age of 38.5 (16-64) years and BMI of 26.81 kg/m2 were analysed. The initial mean ICP was 12.81 (± 6.6) mmHg. The mean TPD before and after the LP was 1.48 mmHg and 0.65 mmHg, respectively. The mean IOP of both eyes decreased to 0.8 mmHg post-LP in patients with pathological ICP (p = 0.0193) and normal ICP (p = 0.006).

CONCLUSIONS: We found a statistically significant decrease of the IOP post-LP compared to the pre-LP in both groups, being higher in patients with pathological ICP. There were no significant differences of the IOP in patients with normal versus pathological ICP pre-LP/post-LP; neither was found a correlation between ICP and IOP.