Neurocritical care
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Cardiac complications frequently occur after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and are associated with an increased risk of neurological complications and poor outcomes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of acute cardiac complications after SAH on long-term mortality and cardiovascular events. ⋯ Cardiac complications after SAH are associated with an increased risk of short-term death. Patients with electrocardiogram abnormalities and stress cardiomyopathy need appropriate follow-up for the identification of cardiac disease or risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
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Stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP) with acid-suppressive drug therapy is widely utilized in critically ill patients following neurologic injury for the prevention of clinically important stress-related gastrointestinal bleeding (CIB). Data supporting SUP, however, largely originates from studies conducted during an era where practices were vastly different than what is considered routine by today's standard. ⋯ This narrative review will discuss current controversies with SUP as they apply to neurocritical care patients. Specifically, the pathophysiology, prevalence, and risk factors for CIB along with the comparative efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of acid-suppressive therapy will be described.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Minority Patients are Less Likely to Undergo Withdrawal of Care After Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage.
Prior studies of patients in the intensive care unit have suggested racial/ethnic variation in end-of-life decision making. We sought to evaluate whether race/ethnicity modifies the implementation of comfort measures only status (CMOs) in patients with spontaneous, non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). ⋯ In ICH, black patients are less likely than white patients to have CMOs. However, in-hospital mortality is similar across all racial/ethnic groups. Further investigation is warranted to better understand the causes and implications of racial disparities in CMO decisions.
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Observational Study
Safety and Reliability of Bedside, Single Burr Hole Technique for Intracranial Multimodality Monitoring in Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.
We aimed to provide a systematic description of our 2-year experience using a standardized bedside, single burr hole approach to intracranial multimodality monitoring (MMM) in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI), focusing on safety and probe reliability. ⋯ A standardized, bedside single burr hole approach to MMM was safe. Despite some probe-specific recording limitations, MMM provided real-time measurements of intracranial pressure, oxygenation, regional cerebral blood flow, brain temperature, and function.
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Anemia is associated with unfavorable functional outcome in ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke. However, the relationship between anemia and prognosis in patients with cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) has not been studied. ⋯ Anemia was a significant and independent predictor of unfavorable functional outcome in patients with CVT.