A nurse is monitoring a client’s intracranial pressure (ICP) after a motor vehicle accident. Upon checking the ICP, the nurse knows to contact the physician. What reading would warrant this action?

  • 8 mm Hg
  • 14 mm Hg
  • 18 mm Hg
  • 22 mm Hg
Number 4 is correct.
In a healthy adult the ICP is 5 – 15 mm Hg. Any pressure greater than 20 mm Hg after a head injury is abnormal.