Patients admitted to the neurocritical care unit (NCCU) often have serious conditions that can be associated with high morbidity and mortality. Pharmacologic agents or neuroprotectants have disappointed in the clinical…
Effective monitoring is critical for neurologically compromised patients, and several techniques are available. One of these tools, cerebral microdialysis (MD), was designed to detect derangements in cerebral metabolism. Although this…
The cause of seizures in the neurosurgical intensive care unit (NICU) can be categorized as emanating from either a primary brain pathology or from physiologic derangements of critical care illness….
Mechanical ventilation in neurologically injured patients presents unique challenges. Patients with acute neurologic injuries may require mechanical ventilation for reasons beyond respiratory failure. There is also a subset of pulmonary…
Surgical techniques that address elevated intracranial pressure include (1) intraventricular catheter insertion and cerebrospinal fluid drainage, (2) removal of an intracranial space-occupying lesion, and (3) decompressive craniectomy. This review discusses…
Management of intracranial pressure in neurocritical care remains a potentially valuable target for improvements in therapy and patient outcomes. Surrogate markers of increased intracranial pressure, invasive monitors, and standard therapy,…
Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality. With the aging population, increased use of anticoagulants, and changing racial and ethnic landscape of the United States, the…
Acute spinal cord injury (SCI) is associated with widespread disturbances not only affecting neurologic function but also leading to hemodynamic instability and respiratory failure. Traumatic SCI rarely occurs in isolation,…
Patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage who survive the initial hemorrhage require complex interventions to occlude the aneurysm, typically followed by a prolonged intensive care unit and hospital course to manage…
Paul A. Nyquist, MD, MPH, FCCM, FAHA, FANA, Editor Marek A. Mirski, MD, PhD, Editor Rafael J. Tamargo, MD, Editor Neurosurgery is a technologically sophisticated interdisciplinary specialty. Neurologic centers of excellence…
