Emergency medicine clinics of North America
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The emergency department is where the patient and potential ethical challenges are first encountered. Patients with acute neurologic illness introduce a unique set of dilemmas related to the pressure for ultra-early prognosis in the wake of rapidly advancing treatments. Many with neurologic injury are unable to provide autonomous consent, further complicating the picture, potentially asking uncertain surrogates to make quick decisions that may result in significant disability. The emergency department physician must take these ethical quandaries into account to provide standard of care treatment.
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Management of acute neurologic disorders in the emergency department is multimodal and may require the use of medications to decrease morbidity and mortality secondary to neurologic injury. Clinicians should form an individualized treatment approach with regard to various patient specific factors. This review article focuses on the pharmacotherapy for common neurologic emergencies that present to the emergency department, including traumatic brain injury, central nervous system infections, status epilepticus, hypertensive emergencies, spinal cord injury, and neurogenic shock.
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Emerg. Med. Clin. North Am. · Feb 2021
ReviewSedation for Rapid Sequence Induction and Intubation of Neurologically Injured Patients.
There are subtle physiologic and pharmacologic principles that should be understood for patients with neurologic injuries. These principles are especially true for managing patients with traumatic brain injuries. ⋯ This article discusses the physiology, pitfalls, and pharmacology necessary to skillfully care for this subset of patients with trauma. The principles endorsed in this article are applicable both for patients with traumatic brain injury and those with spinal cord injuries.
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The differential diagnosis for the comatose patient is includes structural abnormality, seizure, encephalitis, metabolic derangements, and toxicologic etiologies. Identifying and treating the underlying pathology in a timely manner is critical for the patient's outcome. ⋯ We discuss diagnostic testing and treatment methodologies for each of the common causes of coma. Our current understanding of the mechanisms of coma is insufficient to accurately predict the patient's clinical trajectory and more work needs to be done to investigate potential treatments for this often fatal disorder.