Full Description
"This practical and common-sense approach is an excellent companion to the care you provide to your patient." -- Grace H. Bryan
President, Association of Neurosurgical Physician Assistants
[From the Foreword]
This pocket-sized guide distills complicated neurological conditions to deliver the essentials of best care for the neurocritical patient. Often missing from acute care courses, neurocritical care is a growing field, with more patients than ever admitted to the ICU for neurocritical conditions. This specialty requires specificity and precision, but as this practical resource demonstrates, the intricacies of neurocritical care should not be an insurmountable obstacle for any APP.
Written in an easy-access style, Fast Facts About Neurocritical Care covers the defining characteristics, clinical presentation, diagnostics, treatment, and nursing considerations of common neurological disorders seen in acute care settings. Chapters review the assessment and diagnosis of common and not-so-common neurological conditions that can often be difficult to recognize and manage. With learning objectives, illustrations, and Fast Facts boxes highlighting critical content, this reference is an invaluable resource for orientation into this oftenchallenging specialty.
Key Features:
Useful pocket resource for difficult-to-master neurological conditions presenting in ICU
Addresses a growing area of healthcare—a rapidly expanding specialty requiring well-versed nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants
Reviews the basic neurological exam, as well as exam of the comatose patient
Explains pertinent diagnostics including CSF interpretation and different imaging modalities
Discusses commonly used treatments and medications
Presents an orientation resource to this challenging specialty
Contents
Foreword Grace H. Bryan, PA-C
Preface
Part I THE NEURO EXAM
1. The Neurological Examination
2. Neurological Examination of a Patient With Stroke
3. Neurological Examination of the Comatose Patient
4. Intracranial Hypertension
Part II STROKE
5. Ischemic Stroke
6. Hemorrhagic Stroke
7. Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Part III TRAUMA
8. Traumatic Brain Injury
9. Spinal Cord Injury
Part IV NEUROMUSCULAR DISORDERS
10. Guillain-Barré Syndrome
11. Myasthenia Gravis
Part V SEIZURES
12. Isolated Seizures
13. Status Epilepticus
Part VI NEUROINFECTIOUS DISORDERS
14. Meningitis
15. Encephalitis
Part VII BRAIN DEATH
16. Determination of Brain Death
17. Organ Donation
Appendices
A. NIH Stroke Scale
B. ISNCSCI Worksheet
Index
