Question

A 4-year-old girl with a brain tumor diagnosed as an astrocytoma is admitted to the pediatric unit. the nurse performs a physical assessment while the child is lying in the supine position. during the assessment the child states that her head hurts and begins to cry. what does the nurse suspect as the most likely cause of the headache

Answer 1

The answer would be: Increased intracranial pressure caused by blood pooling in the head
A tumour will also apply pressure to the surrounding when growing. It can also obstruct the nearby blood vessels, cause the blood or cerebral fluid to be trapped. The trapped fluid will increase the intra cranial pressure because the skull is a closed space organ.