Questions Your Doctor May Ask - and Why!
During a consultation, your doctor will use various techniques in his assesment of the symptom: Increased intracranial pressure.
These may include a physical examination or other medical tests.
Your doctor may ask several questions when assessing
your condition. It is important to remember that your consultation is a two-way process and any extra information
you can share with your doctor may help them with their diagnosis.
Some of the questions your doctor may ask are listed below:
- Is the raised intracranial pressure acute or chronic?
- Symptoms of raised intracranial pressure?
Why: e.g. any headache, however mild, that is present on or soon after waking and which is made worse by coughing, straining or sneezing. The headaches usually increase in severity and frequency with the passage of time. May be accompanied by morning vomiting. Drowsiness is a late feature.
- Is the person a infant with a large head?
Why: indicates probably hydrocephalus (a group of conditions characterized by an increase in cerebrospinal fluid volume associated with elevated intracranial pressure and dilatation of the brain ventricles) e.g. Dandy-Walker syndrome, Arnold Chiari syndrome.
- History of head injury?
Why: traumatic injury to the brain may cause increased intracranial pressure due to swelling of the brain or subdural or extradural haematoma.
- History of drowning?
Why: drowning causes lack of oxygen to the brain and consequent hypoxic brain injury which may cause brain swelling and increased intracranial pressure.
- History of "near-miss" sudden infant death syndrome?
Why: causes lack of oxygen to the brain and consequent hypoxic brain injury which may cause brain swelling and increased intra-cranial pressure.
- Past medical history?
Why: e.g. some medical conditions may increase the risk of benign intracranial hypertension including hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, hypoparathyroidism, Addison's disease, Cushing's syndrome, sarcoidosis, systemic lupus erythematosus.
- Medications?
Why: e.g. some medications may increase the risk of benign intracranial hypertension including oral contraceptive pill, corticosteroids, supplemental vitamin A, tetracycline, nitrofurantoin, lithium, indomethacin, phenytoin.
Questions your doctor may ask about related symptoms:
Sometimes, other symptoms may be present and may help your doctor analyse
your condition. These may include:
- Impairment of consciousness?
Why: i.e. drowsiness progressing to stupor and coma - may suggest a mass in the brain that is placing pressure on the brain stem.
- Seizures?
Why: may suggest a mass in the brain, whether malignant or benign.
- Limb paralysis?
Why: may occur on the opposite side to the brain mass (due to direct effect of mass) or on the same side of brain mass due to compression of the brain stem due to increased intracranial pressure.
- Symptoms of mastoiditis?
Why: e.g. pain, swelling and tenderness developing behind the ear associated with general deterioration in well-being and mucous to pus-like ear discharge - Mastoiditis may be complicated by intracranial venous sinus thrombosis which can cause raised intracranial pressure.
- Symptoms of benign intracranial hypertension?
Why: e.g. gradual or rapid onset of headache, neck stiffness, nausea and vomiting, often with symptoms of sixth cranial nerve palsy (failure of lateral movement of the eyes with eye squint, blurred vision and double vision). Most commonly affects young, often obese women..
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Symptom combinations for Increased intracranial pressure
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