Coma And Impaired Consciousness

This comprehensive resource examines every aspect of coma, including r elated anatomy, physiology, neurochemistry and pharmacology, new diagn ostic and therapeutic approaches, and decision making--and presents a clear clinical and investigative approach to the syndromes of impaired consciousness. It's unqiue blending of neuroscience with sound clinic al practice and modern management strategies creates a text that's emi nently useful in daily practice, providing effective management strate gies that respect medical, legal and ethical principles. More than a s cholarly text, this title addresses the hottest topics in the field in cluding side effects of modern therapies, new techniques for clinical examination, new methods of management in the ICU and much more.

In spite of medical advances and the increasing number of severely brain-injured patients, the assessment and treatment of patients recovering from coma remain challenging. For over 10 years now, the Coma Science Group has been working on the scientific exploration of disorders of consciousness, with both scientific and clinical research agendas. This book is the result of all this work. The aim is to offer both clinicians and researchers an opportunity to acquire expertise in a field which is constantly developing. Besides diagnostic, prognostic and ethical issues, this book includes well-established findings on assessment techniques (i.e., behavioral scales, electrophysiological explorations and structural/functional neuroimaging) and treatment procedures, but also techniques under development (i.e., the use of classifiers, brain-computer interfaces, transcranial magnetic stimulation or deep brain stimulation) which will stimulate ideas for future research. The Coma Science Group presents here a comprehensive book for readers, regardless of whether they are already familiar with the difficult but exciting field of disorders of consciousness.

"The cerebrospinal vasculature originates at the aortic arch. The right brachiocephalic artery divides into the right common carotid artery and the right subclavian artery. The left common carotid and left subclavian arteries arise directly from the aortic arch. The 2 common carotid arteries bifurcate into the internal and external carotid arteries. The anterior circulation of the brain includes the distal branches from the internal carotid artery, including the anterior cerebral artery and the middle cerebral artery. The vertebral arteries arise from the subclavians and join at the pontomedullary junction, forming the basilar artery. The vertebrobasilar system and distal branches are commonly known as the posterior circulation of the brain"--

This practical, comprehensive and highly illustrated book will be invaluable to students and doctors of neurology and internal medicine in Africa.

The Comatose Patient, Second Edition, is a critical historical overview of the concepts of consciousness and unconsciousness, covering all aspects of coma within 100 detailed case vignettes. This comprehensive text includes principles of neurologic examination of comatose patients as well as instruction of the FOUR Score coma scale, and also discusses landmark legal cases and ethical problems. As the Chair of Division of Critical Care Neurology at Mayo Clinic, Dr. Wijdicks uses his extensive knowledge to discuss a new practical multistep approach to the diagnosis of the comatose patient. Additionally, this edition includes extensive coverage of the interpretation of neuroimaging and its role in daily practice and decision making, as well as management in the emergency room and ICU. Dr. Wijdicks details long-term supportive care and an appropriate approach to communication with family members about end-of-life decision making. In addition, video clips on neurologic examination and neurologic manifestations seen in comatose patients can be found here: http://oxfordmedicine.com/comatosepatient2e. All video recordings from the first edition have been reformatted and remastered for optimal use, and several more video clips of patients have also been included.

Core Topics in Neuroanesthesia and Neurointensive Care is an authoritative and practical clinical text that offers clear diagnostic and management guidance for a wide range of neuroanesthesia and neurocritical care problems. With coverage of every aspect of the discipline by outstanding world experts, this should be the first book to which practitioners turn for easily accessible and definitive advice. Initial sections cover relevant anatomy, physiology and pharmacology, intraoperative and critical care monitoring and neuroimaging. These are followed by detailed sections covering all aspects of neuroanesthesia and neurointensive care in both adult and pediatric patients. The final chapter discusses ethical and legal issues. Each chapter delivers a state-of-the art review of clinical practice, including outcome data when available. Enhanced throughout with numerous clinical photographs and line drawings, this practical and accessible text is key reading for trainee and consultant anesthetists and critical care specialists.

Over the past decade, the hospitalist model has become a dominant system for the delivery of inpatient care. Forces such as national mandates to improve safety and quality, and intense pressure to safely reduce length of hospital stays, are now exerting pressure on neurologists. To meet these challenges, a new neurohospitalist model is emerging. This is the first authoritative text to detail the advances and strategies for treating neurologic disease in a hospital setting. It includes chapters on specific acute neurologic diseases including stroke, epilepsy, neuromuscular disease and traumatic brain injury and also addresses common reasons for neurologic consultation in the hospital including encephalopathy, electrolyte disturbances and neurologic complications of pregnancy. Ethical and structural issues commonly encountered in neurologic inpatients are also addressed. This will be a key resource for any clinician or trainee caring for neurologic patients in the hospital including practising neurologists, internists and trainees across multiple subspecialities.