Brain Disorders in Critical Illness

Brain dysfunction is a major clinical problem in intensive care, with potentially debilitating long-term consequences for post-ICU patients of any age. The resulting extended length of stay in the ICU and post-discharge cognitive dysfunction are now recognized as major healthcare burdens. This concise clinical text provides intensivists and neurologists with a practical review of the pathophysiology of brain dysfunction and a thorough account of the diagnostic and therapeutic options available. Initial sections review the epidemiology, outcomes, relevant behavioral neurology and biological mechanisms of brain dysfunction. Subsequent sections evaluate the available diagnostic options and preventative and therapeutic interventions, with a final section on clinical encephalopathy syndromes encountered in the ICU. Each chapter is rich in illustrations, with an executive summary and a helpful glossary of terms. Brain Disorders in Critical Illness is a seminal reference for all physicians and neuroscientists interested in the care and outcome of severely ill patients.

Robert D. Stevens is Associate Professor, Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and Associate Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Radiology-Radiological Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.

Tarek Sharshar is Professor, Department of Intensive Care Medicine, Raymond Poincaré Hospital, University Versailles Saint-Quentin en Yvelines, Garches, France.

E. Wesley Ely is Professor of Medicine, Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.