Corticosteroids (CSs) are used frequently in the neurocritical care unit mainly for their anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive effects. Despite their broad use, limited evidence exists for their efficacy in diseases confronted in the neurocritical care setting. There are considerable safety concerns associated with administering these drugs and should be limited to specific conditions in which their benefits outweigh the risks. The application of CSs in neurologic diseases, range from traumatic head and spinal cord injuries to central nervous system infections. Based on animal studies, it is speculated that the benefit of CSs therapy in brain and spinal cord, include neuroprotection from free radicals, specifically when given at a higher supraphysiologic doses. Regardless of these advantages and promising results in animal studies, clinical trials have failed to show a significant benefit of CSs administration on neurologic outcomes or mortality in patients with head and acute spinal injuries. This article reviews various chemical structures between natural and synthetic steroids, discuss its pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic profiles, and describe their use in clinical practice.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Animals ; Brain ; Central Nervous System Infections ; Free Radicals ; Glucocorticoids ; Head ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Mortality ; Neuroprotection ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Injuries ; Spinal Injuries ; Steroids

We present a case of angiographically confirmed transection of the cisternal segment of the anterior choroidal artery (AChA) associated with a severe head trauma in a 15-year old boy. The initial brain computed tomography scan revealed a diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and pneumocephalus with multiple skull fractures. Subsequent cerebral angiography clearly demonstrated a complete transection of the AChA at its origin with a massive extravasation of contrast medium as a jet trajectory creating a plume. We speculate that severe blunt traumatic force stretched and tore the left AChA between the internal carotid artery and the optic tract. In a simulation of the patient's brain using a fresh-frozen male cadaver, the AChA is shown to be vulnerable to stretching injury as the ipsilateral optic tract is retracted. We conclude that the arterial injury like an AChA rupture should be considered in the differential diagnosis of severe traumatic SAH.
Angiography ; Arteries* ; Brain ; Cadaver ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Cerebral Angiography ; Choroid* ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Male ; Pneumocephalus ; Rupture ; Skull Fractures ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage, Traumatic* ; Visual Pathways

Malignant cerebral edema following ischemic stroke is life threatening, as it can cause inadequate blood flow and perfusion leading to irreversible tissue hypoxia and metabolic crisis. Increased intracranial pressure and brain shift can cause herniation syndrome and finally brain death. Multiple randomized clinical trials have shown that preemptive decompressive hemicraniectomy effectively reduces mortality and morbidity in patients with malignant middle cerebral artery infarction. Another life-saving decompressive surgery is suboccipital craniectomy for patients with brainstem compression by edematous cerebellar infarction. In addition to decompressive surgery, cerebrospinal fluid drainage by ventriculostomy should be considered for patients with acute hydrocephalus following stroke. Medical treatment begins with sedation, analgesia, and general measures including ventilatory support, head elevation, maintaining a neutral neck position, and avoiding conditions associated with intracranial hypertension. Optimization of cerebral perfusion pressure and reduction of intracranial pressure should always be pursued simultaneously. Osmotherapy with mannitol is the standard treatment for intracranial hypertension, but hypertonic saline is also an effective alternative. Therapeutic hypothermia may also be considered for treatment of brain edema and intracranial hypertension, but its neuroprotective effects have not been demonstrated in stroke. Barbiturate coma therapy has been used to reduce metabolic demand, but has become less popular because of its systemic adverse effects. Furthermore, general medical care is critical because of the complex interactions between the brain and other organ systems. Some challenging aspects of critical care, including ventilator support, sedation and analgesia, and performing neurological examinations in the setting of a minimal stimulation protocol, are addressed in this review.
Analgesia ; Anoxia ; Brain ; Brain Death ; Brain Edema ; Brain Stem ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Coma ; Critical Care* ; Drainage ; Head ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Hypothermia ; Infarction ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; Intracranial Hypertension ; Intracranial Pressure ; Mannitol ; Mortality ; Neck ; Neurologic Examination ; Neuroprotective Agents ; Perfusion ; Stroke* ; Ventilators, Mechanical ; Ventriculostomy

Despite significant regional and risk factor-related variations, the overall mortality rate in patients suffering from aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) remains high. Compared to ischemic stroke, which is typically irreversible, hemorrhagic stroke tends to carry a higher mortality, but patients who do survive have less disability. Technologies to monitor and treat complications of SAH have advanced considerably in recent years, but good long-term functional outcome still depends on prompt diagnosis, early aggressive management, and avoidance of premature withdrawal of support. Endovascular procedures and open craniotomy to secure a ruptured aneurysm represent some of the numerous critical steps required to achieve the best possible result. In this review, we have attempted to provide a contemporary, evidence-based outline of the perioperative critical care management of patients with SAH. This is a challenging and potentially fatal disease with a wide spectrum of severity and complications and an often protracted course. The dynamic nature of this illness, especially in its most severe forms, requires considerable flexibility in clinician management, especially given the panoply of available treatment modalities. Judicious hemodynamic monitoring and adaptive therapy are essential to respond to the fluctuating nature of cerebral vasospasm and the varying oxygen demands of the injured brain that may readily induce acute or delayed cerebral ischemia.
Aneurysm, Ruptured ; Brain ; Brain Ischemia ; Craniotomy ; Critical Care* ; Early Diagnosis ; Endovascular Procedures ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Mortality ; Oxygen ; Pliability ; Stroke ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage* ; Vasospasm, Intracranial

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Hemicraniectomy is a decompressive surgery used to remove a large bone flap to allow edematous brain tissue to bulge extracranially. However, early indicators of the decompressive effects of hemicraniectomy are unclear. We investigated whether reduction of midline shift following hemicraniectomy is associated with improved consciousness and survival in patients with malignant middle cerebral artery infarctions. METHODS: We studied 70 patients with malignant middle cerebral artery infarctions (MMI) who underwent hemicraniectomies. Midline shift was measured preoperatively and postoperatively using computed tomography (CT). Consciousness level was evaluated using the Glasgow Coma Scale on postoperative day 1. Patient survival was assessed six months after stroke onset. RESULTS: The median time interval between preoperative and postoperative CT was 8.3 hours (interquartile range, 6.1–10.2 hours). Reduction in midline shift was associated with higher postoperative Glasgow Coma Scale scores (P<0.05). Forty-three patients (61.4%) were alive at six months after the stroke. Patients with reductions in midline shifts following hemicraniectomy were more likely to be alive at six months post-stroke than those without (P<0.001). Reduction of midline shift was associated with lower mortality at six months after stroke, after adjusting for age, sex, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, and preoperative midline shift (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.71; 95% confidence interval, 0.62–0.81; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Reduction in midline shift following hemicraniectomy was associated with improved consciousness and six-month survival in patients with MMI. Hence, it may be an early indicator of effective decompression following hemicraniectomy.
Brain ; Consciousness ; Decompression ; Decompressive Craniectomy ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Humans ; Infarction ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery* ; Middle Cerebral Artery* ; Mortality ; National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ; Stroke