Cushing's triad
|
|
Cushing's triad is the triad of hypertension, bradycardia, and Cheyne-Stokes respiration (irregular breathing) in patients with head injuries. It is named after Harvey Williams Cushing (1869-1939), the American neurosurgeon who first described this combination of signs.
Identification of the combination of these signs is critically important, especially in the setting of emergency medicine because it is a sign of increasing intracranial pressure. A patient with these signs will usually require urgent life-saving surgery which may include drilling a burr hole into the head to release intracranial pressure.Template:Medsign-stub