Rapid progress in technology and its application to diagnosis and monitoring of brain tissue temperature and metabolism have resulted in advances in the therapy for critically brain-injured patients and breakthroughs in understanding the pathophysiology of brain damage. The latest concept of brain hypothermia therapy clarifies targets such as brain thermal pooling, masking brain hypoxia associated with catecholamine surge, the metabolic shift from glucose to lipids, and selective radical damage of dopamine in the central nervous system. This volume explains the mechanism of brain injury and how brain hypothermia treatment differs from other hypothermia therapy in four major sections: Brain Injury Mechanism, Pathophysiology of Hypothermia, Basic Research of Hypothermia Treatment, and Clinical Studies of Brain Hypothermia. The book is a valuable source for practitioners and researchers in neurosurgery and neurology and in critical care and emergency medicine.

Therapeutic Hypothermia will provide a review of the subject, in particular, resuscitative hypothermia and include known mechanisms of action and results from both mechanistic and outcome laboratory studies and clinical trials. Cooling methods and potential side effects of hypothermia will be addressed as well as recommendations for future laboratory and clinical research. This volume will be of interest to both the researcher interested in therapeutic hypothermia as well as the clinician interested in the potential use of therapeutic hypothermia in their patient population.

This book offers valuable guidance to neurointensivists, other neurocritical care staff, and those desiring to develop a neurocritical care unit via a thorough discussion of neurological emergencies and neurocritical care unit organization. This comprehensive volume begins with a review of acute neurological emergencies as managed clinically in the neurocritical care unit. Topics include acute cerebrovascular, neurological, and neurosurgical disorders. The unique aspect of this book is its description of the organization of the neurocritical care unit. We focus on how other services in the hospital interact with and assist neurocritical care operations, telemedicine/telestroke, and neurocritical care personnel and their roles. A review of expected outcomes of neurocritical care conditions is also included. Neurointensivists, neurocritical care unit staff leadership, hospital administrators, and those interested in developing a neurocritical care unit will find Neurointensive Care Unit: Clinical Practice and Organization to be an invaluable guide.

This two-volume book offers a comprehensive guide to anesthetic management and critical care management in neurosurgical and neurological patients. This first volume focuses on neuroanesthesia. The book begins with basic information on neuroanesthesia, extensively discussing the anatomy of the brain and spine, physiology and relevant pharmacology. Special considerations for pregnant, pediatric and geriatric patients are covered in separate chapters. Each neurosurgical condition is discussed in a standard format relevant for neurosurgical patients, and each chapter, prepared by experts in the field, includes ample illustrations and flowcharts. Information is also provided on the latest evidence-based approaches, robotic surgery and gene therapy. The book offers a valuable resource for all residents, fellows and trainees in the fields of neuroanesthesia and anesthesia; it will also benefit practitioners and consultants.

This volume provides an overview of the most important current controversies in the field of pediatric intensive care. Organized into sections based on organ systems, the text focuses on controversies surrounding disease processes of the cardiac, respiratory, gastrointestinal, hematologic / immunologic, endocrine, and neurologic systems. Each chapter reviews the pros and cons of specific management approaches through case studies and the most up-to-date evidence-based resources, and concludes with bulleted take-home points for ease of use. Written by experts in the field, Pediatric Critical Care: Current Controversies is a valuable resource for intensivists, advanced practice providers, nurses, and other health care providers involved in the care of critically-ill children.

This book describes the evidence behind the application of Therapeutic Hypothermia on patients with injury to the brain and spinal cord, that includes ischemia reperfusion after cardiac arrest or asphyxiation, traumatic brain injury, acute ischemic stroke, hemorrhagic stroke, refractory intracranial hypertension, cerebral edema in acute liver failure, subarachnoid hemorrhage, as well as spinal cord injury. This book discusses the mechanisms by which therapeutic hypothermia can mitigate the pathophysiologies responsible for secondary brain injury, and provides information to help guide this treatment with regard to timing, depth, duration, and management of side-effects. The book also discusses the methods and technologies used to induce and maintain therapeutic hypothermia. It also describes how hypothermia can influence the ability to prognosticate these injured patients and provides grounds for future directions in the application of and research with therapeutic hypothermia.

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the multitude of different forms of thermotherapy in connection with aspects of thermal physiology and cell biology. The aim is to elucidate the scientific background of therapeutic actions and to promote effective new applications at the beginning of the 21st century. Significant to these purposes is cooperation between experts in the fields of thermal biology, hyper thermic oncology, rheumatology, and balneology, as represented by the editors. Emphasis has been placed on a balanced choice of contributions, in the hope that this will enable the reader to draw helpful connections between the principles and prac tice of thermotherapy. It is apparent that a wealth of published data exists concerning thermotherapy on the one hand and thermal physiology on the other. However, in the former field empirical aspects of therapeutic usefulness prevail, while in the latter, aspects of basic science are in the foreground. Accordingly, the sources where published data may be found are quite different and as a consequence many findings of potential mutual interest published in medical journals have gone unnoticed by readers of physio logical journals, and vice versa. It is hoped that this book will bridge the gap and encourage researchers' efforts to integrate the available knowledge to attain optimal coordination of clinical and theoretical aspects.

“A fascinating look into the strange and sometimes unbelievable history of hypothermic medicine. Jaekl weaves together a story that is part history lesson and part science thriller. This is truly a must-read for any fan of science and science fiction!” —Douglas Talk, MD/MPH, chief medical consultant, SpaceWorks Inc., Human Torpor Project The meaning of the word “hypothermia” has Greek origins and roughly translates to “less heat.” Its symptoms can be deadly—shivering, followed by confusion, irrationality, and even the illusion of feeling hot. But hypothermia has another side—it can be therapeutic. In Out Cold, science writer Phil Jaekl chronicles the underappreciated story of human innovation with cold, from Ancient Egypt, where it was used to treat skin irritations, to eighteenth-century London, where scientists used it in their first explorations of suspended animation. Throughout history, physicians have used cold to innovate life extension, enable distant space missions, and explore consciousness. Hypothermia may still conjure macabre images, like the bodies littering Mt. Everest and disembodied heads in cryo-freezers, but the reality is that modern science has invented numerous new life-saving cooling techniques based on what we’ve learned over the centuries. And Out Cold reveals a surprisingly warm future for this chilling state.

An introduction to basic and advanced cardiac and trauma life support. This text embodies the principles and practices advocated by the World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists' Committee on Cardiopulmonary Cerebral Resusitation and Critical Care and incorporates American Heart Association Conference guidelines on CPR and emergency care. Includes complete coverage of resuscitation medicine--basic, advanced and prolonged cardiac and traumatic life support. Approved by the WFSA.