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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
“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…
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…
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,…
