Clinical experiences with the use of mannitol as an agent to reduce intracranial pressure - a preliminary report

ABSTRACT

Twenty-one patients with increased intracranial pressure were given Mannitol (20% and 25% intravenously at a dose ranging from 1 to 1.5 grams per kilogram body weight). Fifteen of these patients showed reduction of intracranial pressure as shown by recession of the surface of the cerebral cortex during craniotomies, and the remaining 5 cases, except one, showed diminution of the size of the pupil. The case which showed no change in the size of the pupils postoperatively was the first case where Mannitol was given at a dose of .5 gms/kg body weightThis encouraging result should merit further controlled clinical trials of the drug. (Summary)