Fast Facts About Neurocritical Care: What Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants Need to Know / Edition 1

by Diane C. McLaughlin DNP, AGACNP-BC

Overview

“This practical and common-sense approach is an excellent companion to the care you provide to your patient.” — Grace H. Bryan

President, Association of Neurosurgical Physician Assistants

[From the Foreword]

This pocket-sized guide distills complicated neurological conditions to deliver the essentials of best care for the neurocritical patient. Often missing from acute care courses, neurocritical care is a growing field, with more patients than ever admitted to the ICU for neurocritical conditions. This specialty requires specificity and precision, but as this practical resource demonstrates, the intricacies of neurocritical care should not be an insurmountable obstacle for any APP.

Written in an easy-access style, Fast Facts About Neurocritical Care covers the defining characteristics, clinical presentation, diagnostics, treatment, and nursing considerations of common neurological disorders seen in acute care settings. Chapters review the assessment and diagnosis of common and not-so-common neurological conditions that can often be difficult to recognize and manage. With learning objectives, illustrations, and Fast Facts boxes highlighting critical content, this reference is an invaluable resource for orientation into this oftenchallenging specialty.

Key Features:

• Useful pocket resource for difficult-to-master neurological conditions presenting in ICU
• Addresses a growing area of healthcare—a rapidly expanding specialty requiring well-versed nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants
• Reviews the basic neurological exam, as well as exam of the comatose patient
• Explains pertinent diagnostics including CSF interpretation and different imaging modalities
• Discusses commonly used treatments and medications
• Presents an orientation resource to this challenging specialty

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826188199
Publisher:	Springer Publishing Company
Publication date:	10/17/2018
Series:	Fast Facts
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	229
Sales rank:	295,734
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Diane McLaughlin DNP, AGACNP-BC, CCRN, FNCS, FCCM is an acute care nurse practitioner at Mayo Clinic Florida and Baptist Medical Center Lyerly Neurocritical Care. She specializes in the field of neurocritical care and is a world expert and international speaker on topics such as stroke, advanced practice provider (APP) training and point-of-care ultrasound. She is active in healthcare, particularly in her work with the Society of Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), serving on Strategic Planning, Congress Program Planning, ACCM Awards, and Social Media Committees. She is a member of the American College of Critical Care Medicine as a Fellow of Critical Care Medicine, which is a designation honoring practitioners who have made outstanding contributions in critical care. Dr. McLaughlin is a member of the Neurocritical Care Society Guidelines committee and former APP Leadership committee and serves as a Social Media Ambassador for the Neurocritical Care Journal. She was also inducted as a Fellow of Neurocritical Care in 2022. She is the only nurse practitioner currently holding both FCCM and FNCS accolades. She is passionate about APP training and has taught at multiple colleges and universities. She spends much of her free time helping to advance the role of the critical care advanced practice provider at the bedside. She is knowledgeable in research and academia, with many publications, presentations, book chapters and authored Fast Facts about Neurocritical Care for Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants, Fast Fact about Stroke for Advanced Nurses, and now Fast Facts about Cardiac Surgery Nursing. She was a 2024 honoree of the University of Florida as one of the 40 Gators Under 40.

Table of Contents

Foreword Grace H. Bryan, PA-C

Preface

Part I THE NEURO EXAM

1. The Neurological Examination

2. Neurological Examination of a Patient With Stroke

3. Neurological Examination of the Comatose Patient

4. Intracranial Hypertension

Part II STROKE

5. Ischemic Stroke

6. Hemorrhagic Stroke

7. Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Part III TRAUMA

8. Traumatic Brain Injury

9. Spinal Cord Injury

Part IV NEUROMUSCULAR DISORDERS

10. Guillain–Barré Syndrome

11. Myasthenia Gravis

Part V SEIZURES

12. Isolated Seizures

13. Status Epilepticus

Part VI NEUROINFECTIOUS DISORDERS

14. Meningitis

15. Encephalitis

Part VII BRAIN DEATH

16. Determination of Brain Death

17. Organ Donation

Appendices

A. NIH Stroke Scale

B. ISNCSCI Worksheet

Index

Editorial Reviews

Reviewer: Cynthia Cummings, EdD, RN, CHSE, CNE (University of North Florida Brooks College of Health)
Description: This book presents the facts and tools necessary for caring for patients with critical neurological conditions. The book contains many assessment tools and tables, which are of excellent quality.
Purpose: The purpose is to provide information on the care of critically ill neurological patients, and the book meets the objectives completely.
Audience: The audience is all nurses caring for critically ill neurological patients. They may be nurses, students, or practitioners specializing in neurocritical care. The book definitely meets the needs of the intended audience. The author is from Mayo Clinic Jacksonville and has excellent credentials.
Features: The book covers assessment and treatment of neurocritical patients. The conditions include head trauma, strokes, increased ICP, seizures, and viral infections, as well as brain death and organ donation. The assessment tools and fact tables are excellent and wonderful resources.
Assessment: This is an excellent resource and acquisition for any nurse caring for neurocritical patients. I am very familiar with the author's mentor, Dr. Freeman, and I know that the information is of the highest quality. I would highly recommend this book for anyone interested in this topic.

Doody's Review Service