[whocares175]

when it comes to iicp the biggest things we're taught at the school house are:
1-recognize injuries that would raise your level of suspicion for iicp
2-treat all other inj's to prevent shock
3-EVAC ASAP
4-while mannitol MAY be helpful, most of the patients we'll probably see with iicp are trauma patients who are suffering the effects of hypovolemia already, not a good idea to mix diuretics with hypovolemia
5-if you have to hang on to a patient for a while refer back to steps 1 & 2 also, you can try elevating the head above the level of heart and hyperventilation (supplies more O2 to the blood thus reducing the size of the arteries in the brain and hopefully relieving pressure)
6-EVAC ASAP-did i say that before? good.
the things mentioned in step 5 are only temporary to TRY and SLOW down iicp. the bottom line is as a field medic you can't deal with iicp. get the patient to higher echelons of care.