Neurocritical care
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Neurosurgical trainees regularly encounter critical care situations. Traditionally, education was accomplished through lecture and experience. Increasingly, human patient simulators (HPS) are employed, allowing trainees to sharpen skills in a safe and realistic environment. We describe our experience using HPS in neurosurgical training. ⋯ Neurosurgical critical care education is important for safe and effective care for patients. Clinical experience and didactic lectures help trainees obtain a solid knowledge base, but do not provide the benefit for learning in a fail-safe environment. Through the use of HPS, we have enhanced the critical care education of our trainees.
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Prognostication for survivors of cardiac arrest is a frequent challenge to neurologists. Our aim was to determine whether the FOUR (Full Outline of UnResponsiveness) score is an accurate predictor of outcome in patients after cardiac arrest and to compare its performance to the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). ⋯ The FOUR score, a simple clinical tool, is an accurate predictor of outcome in patients surviving cardiac arrest.
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Clinical recognition of acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) and its early prognostication would guide the degree of intensive treatment required. We aimed to study the clinical features and factors associated with death in patients with community acquired ABM. ⋯ In the present study, most of the factors predicting death were identified at the time of admission. Identification of these factors could help prioritizing patients needing intensive care facilities, especially in resource poor setting.