What is it about?
Neurocritical care (NCC) is an expanding subspecialty within critical care medicine while NCC board certification has been offered since 2007 [1, 2]. NCC units (NCCUs) have become more widespread and have typically evolved from larger multidisciplinary intensive care units (ICUs) into freestanding units. (e goal of the NCCU is to optimize care for brain- and spine-injured patients, who can be vulnerable to physiological and biochemical perturbations [3, 4]. Accordingly, a dedicated NCCU—which includes specialized team, protocols, monitoring, imaging, and expertise—may result in less secondary injury and better outcomes [5–7].
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Why is it important?
There is growing evidence regarding the benefits associated with NCCU-based care for brain-injured patients. (ese include shorter hospital length of stay and/or better neurological and functional outcomes for all comers [8–12]. Better outcomes have also been reported for specific disease states: cerebral hemorrhage (ICH) [13], acute ischemic strokes [14], subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and traumatic spinalcord and brain injuries [15]. A dedicated NCCU might also be associated with more appropriate resource utilization [14], better adherence to protocols [16], better chart documentation [11], and readmission rates [17]. If so then objective data are important as it could provide justification and leverage for institutions eager to start their own NCCU [18]. (us far, the vast majority of the NCCU studies have come from North America and Europe, whereas there are scarce data from other nations. (is is the first study in the Middle East that evaluated the impact of a newly launched NCCU on the outcome of neurologically injured patients, within the largest polyvalent ICU department in the Middle Eas
Perspectives
Creation of a dedicated NCCU was associated with a significant reduction in ICU and hospital mortality rates, as well as ICU LOS. Admission to NCCU was an independent predictor of discharge from the hospital. NCCU-discharged brain-injured patients exhibited higher GCS and required more frequently invasive neuromonitoring and other interventional procedures with the notable exemption of performed tracheostomies.
Nasir Nasim
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This page is a summary of: Improved Outcomes following the Establishment of a Neurocritical Care Unit in Saudi Arabia, Critical Care Research and Practice, July 2018, Hindawi Publishing Corporation,
DOI: 10.1155/2018/2764907.
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