Evaluating the Effect of Adding Furosemide to Hypertonic Saline 5% on the Intracranial Pressure in Candidates of Craniotomy for Resection of Supratentorial Brain Tumors

Increasing in intracranial pressure is a life-threatening condition during craniotomy surgery, which increases the incidence of complications and mortality in patients. Therefore, it is necessary to find a way to cure this complication. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of adding furosemide to hypertonic saline 5% on intracranial pressure changes in patients with craniotomy surgery for resection of supratentorial tumors.
This study was performed on 65 candidate for craniotomy surgery (33 patients in the intervention group and 32 in the control group). Patients were randomly divided into two groups; the intervention group received 5 ml/kg saline hypertonic 5% plus 0.05 cc/kg furosemide, and the control group received 5 ml/kg saline hypertonic 5% plus 0.05 cc/kg distilled water. Vital signs and intracranial pressure were recorded in patients.
Findings: The relaxation after cranial openings in the intervention group was significantly lower (1.66 versus 2.37) (P = 0.001), and also relaxation before the opening of the dura (1.33 versus 1.81) (P = 0.009). However, there was no difference in the hemodynamic parameters and the length of stay in the hospital (P > 0.050 for all).
Adding furosemide to hypertonic saline 5% improves and decreases intracranial pressure in patients with craniotomy surgery for resection of supratentorial tumors.