Articles: neurocritical-care.
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Review Meta Analysis
The effectiveness of specialist neuroscience care in severe traumatic brain injury: a systematic review.
UK trauma services are currently undergoing reconfiguration, but the optimum management pathway for head-injured patients is uncertain. We therefore performed a systematic review to assess the effects of routine inter-hospital transfer and specialist neuroscience care on mortality and disability in patients with non-surgical severe traumatic brain injury injured nearest to a non-specialist acute hospital. ⋯ There is limited evidence supporting a strategy of secondary transfer of severe non-surgical traumatic brain injury patients to specialist neuroscience centres. Randomised controlled trials powered to detect clinically plausible treatment effects should be considered to definitively investigate effectiveness.
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Journal of critical care · Aug 2014
ReviewAutomated pupillometer for monitoring the critically ill patient: A critical appraisal.
Abnormalities in the pupillary light reflex are an important prognostic indicator for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). Manual pupillary examination is confounded by interobserver discrepancies and errors in detecting a reflex under certain conditions. The automated pupillometer is a computer-based infrared digital video device that can obtain objective measurements of pupillary size and reactivity. ⋯ Pupillometric measurements had better precision and reproducibility compared with the manual pupillary examination. Based on these data, we conclude that pupillometry monitoring can serve as an important tool in the ICU. Further large scale studies on patients in the neurocritical care unit and medical ICU are needed to support the routine use of automated pupillometry.
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The Neurohospitalist · Jul 2014
Therapeutic hypothermia for neuroprotection: history, mechanisms, risks, and clinical applications.
The earliest recorded application of therapeutic hypothermia in medicine spans about 5000 years; however, its use has become widespread since 2002, following the demonstration of both safety and efficacy of regimens requiring only a mild (32°C-35°C) degree of cooling after cardiac arrest. We review the mechanisms by which hypothermia confers neuroprotection as well as its physiological effects by body system and its associated risks. With regard to clinical applications, we present evidence on the role of hypothermia in traumatic brain injury, intracranial pressure elevation, stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, spinal cord injury, hepatic encephalopathy, and neonatal peripartum encephalopathy. Based on the current knowledge and areas undergoing or in need of further exploration, we feel that therapeutic hypothermia holds promise in the treatment of patients with various forms of neurologic injury; however, additional quality studies are needed before its true role is fully known.
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The Neurohospitalist · Jul 2014
An update in postcardiac arrest management and prognosis in the era of therapeutic hypothermia.
Prognostication of patients who remain comatose following successful resuscitation after cardiac arrest has long posed a challenge for the consulting neurologist. With increasing rates of early defibrillation, out-of-hospital cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and expanding use of therapeutic hypothermia, prognostication in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy has become an increasingly common consult for neurologists. Much of the data we previously relied upon for prognostication were taken from patients who were not treated with therapeutic hypothermia. ⋯ Neurologists must avoid overly pessimistic prognostic statements regarding survival, awakening from coma, or future quality of life, as such statements may unduly influence decisions regarding the continuation of life-sustaining treatment. Conversely, continuation of aggressive medical management in a patient without any hope of awakening should also be avoided. Thus, an understanding of the utility and the limitations of these prognostic tools in the era of therapeutic hypothermia is essential.