GENERAL ORGANIZATION, DISEASE SPECTRUM AND MULTIMODAL MONITORING IN NEUROCRITICAL CARE UNITS; A REVIEW

Abstract

Neurocritical care has further evolved in the last decades and is currently part of many health systems as separately organized specialty. Neurocritical care involves interdisciplinary teams, protocol implementation and neuromonitoring as well as research and further development of the filed. Its spectrum has drastically been expanded and technological developments have improved multimodal monitoring capacities, although its impact on patients’ management and functional status requires further research. Although there is clear evidence that neurocritical care can improve outcomes and quality of life of patients who are severely ill, understanding its structure, clinical practice and multimodal neuromonitoring is essential for further development of this field. We present herein the historical evolution of neurocritical care units and their current organization, as well as the spectrum of neurocritical diseases and available modalities for neuromonitoring.