Nursing and Education
Introduction Nurses and physicians come from two distinctly different programs. In the neurocritical care unit (NCCU) they work side by side but may not have been provided with the opportunity…
NEUROSURGERY
Informatics Infrastructure for the Neurocritical Care Unit
Introduction S.P. is a 60-year-old female with a history of hypertension who presented comatose with a left thalamic intracerebral hemorrhage associated with intraventricular hemorrhage, midline shift, and localized mass effect….
Monitors During Anesthesia: Effects of Anesthetic Agents on Monitors
Introduction Need for Anesthesia and Monitoring During Surgery Monitoring is an essential component of patient care in the operating room, and standard monitoring mandated by the American Society of Anesthesiology…
Brain Monitoring Issues in Pediatrics
Introduction Neuromonitoring in the intensive care unit (ICU) is undertaken for several acute neurologic conditions in children. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) constitutes the most common indication for neuromonitoring because injury…
Why Monitor and Principles of Neurocritical Care
Introduction The collective burden of critical neurologic illnesses is overwhelming. Stroke occurs in about 800,000 individuals each year in the United States, with case fatality rates from acute ischemic stroke…
Quality Assessment in the Neurocritical Care Unit
Introduction Intensive care is one of the most expensive forms of care delivered by a hospital system. In 1993, intensive care represented 25% to 30% of acute hospital costs and…
Clinical Assessment in the Neurocritical Care Unit
Introduction Many patients in the neurocritical care unit (NCCU) are in coma, have altered consciousness, or have a disease process that may lead to altered consciousness. Coma and other disorders…
Bioethics and the Family
“Medical technology has effectively created a twilight zone of suspended animation where death commences while life, in some form, continues.” —Justice William Brennan, 1990, regarding the case of Nancy Cruzan…
Pain, Sedation, and Delirium in Critical Illness
Introduction Patient comfort in an intensive care unit (ICU), from both a mental and physical health perspective, is of utmost importance for patient safety and recovery. Proper management of analgesia…
Outcome Scales and Neuropsychological Outcome
Introduction The incidence of mortality and illness-related complications has long been documented in the medical literature. More recently, the measurement of outcomes has gained increasing attention because advanced medical procedures,…
