Critical care clinics
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The role of the neurointensivist as a subspecialist has been cemented in modern medicine globally. It was forged through the collaboration of neurologists, neurosurgeons, internists, anesthesiologists, general surgeons, emergency medicine physicians, and pediatricians. ⋯ Neurocritical care harnesses knowledge, technology, resources, and research opportunities to embrace a multisystem approach to care for the neurologically critically ill. Although recently formally recognized, its crucial role to serve patients with acute, life-threatening neurologic insults has been well established.
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Critical care clinics · Jan 2023
ReviewNeurocritical Care Research: Collaborations for Curing Coma.
One of the most common questions asked by family members of patients with brain injuries who are in a coma is "will my loved one wake up?". Despite substantial improvements in the care of patients with neurological diseases, the medical and scientific community struggles to answer this simple question. More importantly, the technology and treatment strategies to improve the trajectory of patients with impaired consciousness in the acute setting are limited. ⋯ Over the first few years of the group, several publications have focused on identifying the gaps in our knowledge to encourage research in the area. In this review, the current understanding of DoC is reviewed. The work of the Curing Coma Campaign to identify gaps in our knowledge is highlighted.
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Critical care clinics · Jan 2023
ReviewPhysiological Monitoring in Patients with Acute Brain Injury: A Multimodal Approach.
Neurocritical care management of acute brain injury (ABI) is focused on identification, prevention, and management of secondary brain injury (SBI). Physiologic monitoring of the brain and other organ systems has a role to predict patient recovery or deterioration, guide individualized therapeutic interventions, and measure response to treatment, with the goal of improving patient outcomes. In this review, we detail how specific physiologic markers of brain injury and neuromonitoring tools are integrated and used in ABI patients to develop therapeutic approaches to prevent SBI.
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This article reviews the care of patients with ischemic stroke in the intensive care unit, including early general critical care interventions for airway control blood pressure goals according to the type of acute stroke treatment, poststroke cerebral edema management, hemorrhagic conversion in ischemic stroke, fibrinolytic reversal, and management of carotid endarterectomy and infective endocarditis. The importance of preventing common intensive care complications is discussed, including aspiration pneumonia, deep venous thrombosis, urinary tract infections, cardiac arrhythmias, and hyperglycemia.