Placement of intracranial pressure monitors: are "normal" coagulation parameters necessary?

Introduction: Patients with head injuries frequently have abnormal coagulation studies. Monitoring intracranial pressure (ICP) in head injured patients is common practice, but no best practice guidelines exist for coagulation parameters for ICP monitor placement.

Purpose: To test the hypothesis that hemorrhagic complication rates from ICP monitor placement are low and that the use of FFP to correct coagulation parameters to "normal" is not indicated.