Nursing Care in the Neurointensive Care Unit

Abstract

Neurocritical care specialty units (neurointensive care units) have emerged as a distinct medical subspecialty and discipline, integrating complex critical care medicine, neurosurgical care, and neurological care with the goal of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary care of complex life-threatening central and peripheral nervous system disorders. As the field continues to evolve, a multidisciplinary team approach and management are paramount for the key role patient care optimization. In turn, a well-run neurocritical care unit is ideally staffed by trained neurointensivist physicians, which may hail from different disciplines such as neurology, neurosurgery anesthesia, or critical care medicine. Tantamount to this, nurse staff trained in critical care with a major emphasis on neurological and neurosurgical patients care management is essential for a safe and optimal care of such patients.