Do patients still require admission to an intensive care unit after elective craniotomy for brain surgery?

Background: After elective craniotomy for brain surgery, patients are usually admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU). We sought to identify predictors of postoperative complications to define perioperative conditions that would safely allow ICU bypass.

Methods: This observational cohort study enrolled 358 patients admitted to neuro-ICU after elective intracranial procedures.

Perfusion CT to quantify the cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Background And Purpose: After subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), vasospasm is frequent and increases the risk of stroke and poor clinical outcome. The purpose of this study was to identify the best perfusion parameters in perfusion-CT (PCT) able to predict vasospasm diagnosed by angiography after SAH.

Methods: Seventy-six patients with SAH were investigated by PCT and cerebral angiography.

Equimolar doses of mannitol and hypertonic saline in the treatment of increased intracranial pressure.

Objective: To compare the effects of equimolar doses of 20% mannitol solution and of 7.45% hypertonic saline solution (HSS) in the treatment of patients with sustained elevated intracranial pressure (ICP).

Design: Parallel, randomized, controlled trial.

Transcranial Doppler to detect on admission patients at risk for neurological deterioration following mild and moderate brain trauma.

Objective: To investigate the contribution of transcranial Doppler measurements obtained in the emergency room for detecting patients with secondary neurological deterioration after mild or moderate brain trauma.

Design And Setting: Prospective cohort study in the emergency room in a university teaching hospital.

Patients: Seventy-eight adult patients admitted to the emergency room after a traumatic brain injury (TBI), including 42 patients with Glasgow Coma Score 14-15 and 36 with 9-13.