The treatment of acute ischemic stroke is one of the most rapidly evolving areas in medicine. Like all ischemic vascular emergencies, the priority is reperfusion before irreversible infarction. The central…
The emergency department is where the patient and potential ethical challenges are first encountered. Patients with acute neurologic illness introduce a unique set of dilemmas related to the pressure for…
There are subtle physiologic and pharmacologic principles that should be understood for patients with neurologic injuries. These principles are especially true for managing patients with traumatic brain injuries. Prevention of…
Using an algorithmic approach to acutely dizzy patients, physicians can often confidently make a specific diagnosis that leads to correct treatment and should reduce the misdiagnosis of cerebrovascular events. Emergency…
Weakness has a broad differential diagnosis. A paradigm for organizing possibilities is to consider what part of the nervous system is involved, ranging from brain, spinal cord, nerve roots, and…
The differential diagnosis for the comatose patient is includes structural abnormality, seizure, encephalitis, metabolic derangements, and toxicologic etiologies. Identifying and treating the underlying pathology in a timely manner is critical…
Management of acute neurologic disorders in the emergency department is multimodal and may require the use of medications to decrease morbidity and mortality secondary to neurologic injury. Clinicians should form…
Functional or psychogenic seizures have proved a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge for centuries. Functional seizures can look and feel similar to epileptic seizures but are instead a common and highly…
Over the past 2 decades, the population of immunocompromised patients has increased dramatically in the United States. These patients are at elevated risk for both community-acquired and opportunistic central nervous system…
Atraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage represents a small proportion of strokes, but is a true medical emergency that results in significant morbidity and mortality. Making the diagnosis can be challenging and misdiagnosis…