Neurocritical care
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Neurologically critically ill patients present with unique disease trajectories, prognostic uncertainties, and challenges to end-of-life (EOL) care. Acute brain injuries place these patients at risk for underrecognized symptoms and unmet EOL management needs, which can negatively affect their quality of care and lead to complicated grief in surviving loved ones. To care for patients nearing the EOL in the neurointensive care unit, health care clinicians must consider neuroanatomic localization, barriers to symptom assessment and management, unique aspects of the dying process, and EOL management needs. ⋯ We aim to define current best practices, barriers, and future directions for EOL care of the neurologically critically ill patient.
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Comment Review
The Urban-Rural Divide in Neurocritical Care in Low-Income and Middle-Income Countries.
The term "urban-rural divide" encompasses several dimensions and has remained an important concern for any country. The economic disparity; lack of infrastructure; dearth of medical specialists; limited opportunities to education, training, and health care; lower level of sanitation; and isolating effect of geographical location deepens this gap, especially in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). This article gives an overview of the rural-urban differences in terms of facilities related to neurocritical care (NCC) in LMICs. ⋯ To facilitate delivery of NCC in resource-limited settings, proposed strategies include strengthening preventive measures, focusing on basics, having a multidisciplinary approach, promoting training and education, and conducting cost-effective research and collaborative efforts. The rural areas of LMICs bear the maximum impact because of their limited access to preventive health services, high incidence of acquired brain injury, inability to have timely management of neurological emergencies, and scarcity of specialist services in a resource-deprived health center. An increase in the health budget allocation for rural areas, NCC education and training of the workforce, and provision of telemedicine services for rapid diagnosis, management, and neurorehabilitation are some of the steps that can be quite helpful.
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Despite improvements in survival after illnesses requiring extracorporeal life support, cerebral injury continues to hinder successful outcomes. Cerebral autoregulation (CA) is an innate protective mechanism that maintains constant cerebral blood flow in the face of varying systemic blood pressure. However, it is impaired in certain disease states and, potentially, following initiation of extracorporeal circulatory support. ⋯ Next, we examine factors intrinsic to ECMO that may affect CA, such as cannulation, changes in pulsatility, the inflammatory and adaptive immune response, intracranial hemorrhage, and ischemic stroke, in addition to ECMO management factors, such as oxygenation, ventilation, flow rates, and blood pressure management. We highlight potential mechanisms that lead to disruption of CA in both pediatric and adult populations, the challenges of measuring CA in these patients, and potential associations with neurological outcome. Altogether, we discuss individualized CA monitoring as a potential target for improving neurological outcomes in extracorporeal life support.
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Pediatric neurocritical care teams care for patients and families facing the potential for significant neurologic impairment and high mortality. Such admissions are often marked by significant prognostic uncertainty, high levels of parental emotional overload, and multiple potentially life-altering decision points. In addition to clinical acumen, families desire clear and consistent communication, supported decision-making, a multidisciplinary approach to psychosocial supports throughout an admission, and comprehensive bereavement support after a death. ⋯ Decision-making requires its own ethical framework, with substitutive judgment giving way to the best interest standard as well as "good parent" narratives. When a child dies, bereavement support is often needed for the broader community. There will always be a role for specialist palliative care consultation in the pediatric neurocritical care unit, but the care of every patient and family will be well served by improving these primary palliative care skills.