Mannitol is a commonly used osmotherapy agent in raised intracranial pressure (ICP) but the side effects are significant. An alternative therapy, hypertonic saline, has shown varied results. Host Margaret M. Parker, MD, MCCM, is joined by Arun Bansal, MD, to review a study that compared the effect of hypertonic saline versus mannitol on raised ICP in pediatric acute central nervous system infections (Rameshkumar R, et al. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2020 Dec;21:1071-1080). Dr. Bansal is a professor in the department of pediatrics at the Advanced Pediatrics Centre, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India.
