Emergency Neurology

The most common problems for which patients present to the Emergency Department are neurological disorders, including stroke, syncope, back pain and headache. The etiology of the patient's symptoms may be life-threatening, that is, when headache is due to subarachnoid hemorrhage or meningitis, or life-altering, that is, when back pain or weakness is due to spinal cord compression, if not diagnosed and treated urgently. This is a comprehensive textbook of the disorders that are neurological emergencies, including their differential diagnosis, diagnosis and treatment. Designed for any practitioner who makes time-sensitive decisions, Emergency Neurology is an indispensable, one-stop resource to aid your clinical decision-making.

Part of the "What Do I Do Now?" series, Emergency Neurology uses a case-based approach to cover challenging cases for clinicians caring for patients with urgent neurologic illnesses, addressing difficult questions of diasnosis and treatment. Each chapter provides a discussion of the diagnosis, key points to remember, and selected references for further reading. For this new edition, all cases and references have been updated, reflecting the advances in emergency neurologic care. Emergency Neurology is an engaging collection of thought-provoking cases which clinicians can utilize when they encounter difficult patients, who are in need of timely emergency treatment. The volume is also a self-assessment tool that tests the reader's ability to answer the question, "What do I do now?"

This compact handbook provides all the essential specific steps for assessment and management of emergencies in neurology. Edited by an emergency medicine physician and a neurologist, these chapters are easy to review during or after a busy shift. Focus is placed on the acute patient with both common and complex neurological presentations. Also covered are specific, diagnosis-based problems, including traumatic brain injury, stroke, and seizures. Each chapter is filled with relevant computed tomography, magnetic resonance, and vascular studies, as well as many other images, algorithms, and tables. Neurology Emergencies will prove invaluable not only to busy residents in emergency and internal medicine, family practice and neurology, but also medical students who want to excel. This reference guide will also benefit hospitalists and attendings who care for patients with acute neurological problems.

This book adopts a novel approach: procedures: instead of discussing the diagnostic categories of neurological syndromes, it focuses on the symptoms of common neurological presentations (especially in the emergency room or on the ward), and the diagnostic hypotheses that can be validated or rejected case by case as a result. Each chapter covers one of the main symptoms of emergencies in neurology – from transient consciousness disturbances to focal deficits, acute muscular disorders, respiratory insufficiency in neurological disorders, headaches, delirium, seizures and epileptic status, para-and tetraplegia, and head trauma, to acute functional disorders – and includes tables and figures to allow readers to gain a quick and easy, yet comprehensive overview of the topic. The book guides readers through various scenarios generated by the onset of symptoms, the clinical tools for differential diagnostics, and the principles of acute and post-acute phase therapy, managed by decision algorithms supported by the most recent scientific evidence. The resulting precedural profile – created through the collaboration of over 80 specialists in neurology or other disciplines – makes this text a valuable tool for neurologists, neurology residents and allied professionals in their daily clinical practice, as well as medical students.

A comprehensive clinical reference in emergency neurology, from prehospital care to the final disposition of the patient.

Neurological Emergencies presents a comprehensive guide on the initial assessment and early treatment of patients with neurological emergencies. It discusses the diagnosis, emergency investigations, and handling of coma patients. It addresses the management of focal supratentorial lesion. Some of the topics covered in the book are the diffuse neurological or systemic disturbance; emergency resuscitation; diagnosis and treatment of transtentorial herniation; diagnosis and treatment of acute viral encephalitis; raised intracranial pressure; diagnosis and treatment of non-viral infective encephalitis; viral meningitis; meningovascular syphilis; diagnosis and treatment of cerebral abscess; diagnosis and treatment of intracranial subdural empyema; and diagnosis and treatment of cerebral venous thrombosis. The diagnosis and treatment ofstroke is fully covered. An in-depth account of the difference between haemorrhage and infarction is provided. The diagnosis of subarachnoid haemorrhage is completely presented. A chapter is devoted to the prevention of more cranial bleeding.

Fully updated and revised, the second edition of The Practice of Emergency and Critical Care Neurology puts a more modern approach on the practice of emergency neurological care. When most texts within the field focus on the theoretical aspects, this book concentrates on the management of neurologic conditions, recognition of deterioration of neurologic functions, neurosurgical procedures, and immediate interventions. This text also presents hard data to explain why we do what we do. Dr. Wijdicks condenses essential information into several sections comprising of the principles in recognizing critically ill neurologic patients in the emergency department, the evaluation of symptoms indicating critical emergency, general principles of managing critically ill patients, monitoring devices and diagnostic tests, complete management of specific disorders in the neurosciences intensive care unit, postoperative neurosurgical and neurointerventional complications, management of medical complications, and end of life care. Key Features of the New Edition include 1. Additional chapters on critical consults in surgical and medical ICUs, critical care management, and comprehensive monitoring and biomarkers to reflect new research; 2. Rich illustrations using color photos of patients and drawings of important basic concepts of mechanism of acute neurologic disease; 3. Fully updated and comprehensive reference list; 4. A pocket book of selected tables and figures covering all essential points for quick reference and as a survival guide for house staff. This is the go-to guide for every physician, staff neurologist, neurointensivist, resident, and fellow in training with managing acutely ill neurologic patients.

This book is an invaluable resource for the diagnosis and management of neurological illnesses in the emergency setting. It emphasizes the quality of prognosis to be contingent on the prompt management of these illnesses. Emergency Neurology, Second Edition follows the exemplary format of the previous edition, with comprehensive chapters on every neurological emergency, including stroke, headache, back pain, dizziness, vertigo, syncope, visual loss, diplopia, facial nerve palsy, weakness, altered mental status, coma, meningitis and encephalitis, seizures, and spinal cord disorders. Chapters emphasize the clinical presentation, diagnostic studies and management, and include high-quality images and tables that are invaluable for rapid diagnosis and therapy. Building off its predecessor's success, Emergency Neurology, Second Edition is an excellent reference for neurologists, emergency room physicians, internists, neurology residents, emergency medicine residents, and internal medicine residents.

This is the second edition (in two volumes) of a well-received book that reflects current practices in the management of neurological emergencies. It was written bearing in mind the needs of first-contact physicians, who may be neurology trainees, neurology consultants, or interns. Special attention has been paid to various aspects of managing patients at the emergency department, from taking a good clinical history, to completing a quick and focused clinical examination, to investigating and commencing treatment. Neurological emergencies are unique in that they appear abruptly, generally follow a volatile course, and require a prompt yet balanced response. The management of neurological emergencies has been a major challenge in the past, and today, early and aggressive approaches are generally recommended. Exploring these and other aspects, the book offers a valuable asset for all practitioners seeking answers to the questions that inevitably arise while attempting to manage such critical situations.

Movement Disorder Emergencies: Diagnosis and Treatment provides a fresh and unique approach to what is already a high-profile subspecialty area in clinical neurology. The disorders covered in this volume are standard fare in the field but emphasize the urgencies and emergencies that can occur. One of the very attractive features of the field of movement disorders is that diagnosis is often based on unique visible and sometimes audible phenomenological symptoms and signs. Therefore, in this era of highly sophisticated laboratory and radiological diagnostic tools, the diagnosis of many movement disorders is still largely made in the clinic where pattern recognition is key. Crucial to astute clinical diagnosis is broad clinical experience. In short, you have to have seen one to recognize one! Patients with movement disorders nearly always present as outpatients but, as aptly recognized by Drs. Frucht and Fahn, this may include acute manifestations leading to emergency presentations, often in an emergency room setting, where they are very likely to be unrecognized and therefore poorly managed. The authors define an “emergency” movement disorder as one in which failure to promptly diagnose and treat may result in significant morbidity or mortality. However, they also stress the importance of certain “can’t miss” diagnoses such as Wilson’s disease, dopa-responsive dystonia, and Whipple’s disease in which delayed diagnosis in less emergent situations can lead to slowly evolving and often irreversible neurological damage with tragic consequences.