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Nurses are an integral part of the multidisciplinary team caring for a patient eligible for endovascular thrombectomy. Their care includes obtaining health history, performing clinical assessments, using critical thinking to anticipate the care path, and communicating findings to other team members. The prehospital and emergency department nurses utilize stroke severity scales to identify a possible thrombectomy candidate and help expedite intervention. In the interventional laboratory, nursing collaborates with radiology technologists and interventionalists to ensure patient safety and monitor for intraprocedural complications. Post-procedure, the intensive care nurse delivers complex care to ensure optimal neurological outcome and assess for postprocedural complications. Nursing is essential in every phase of care along with collaboration with other disciplines.

Background: We sought to determine and validate a pre-reperfusion blood pressure threshold for MCA occlusions patients with better thrombectomy outcomes. Methods: We reviewed patients from 2013 to 2015 treated with thrombectomy for a MCA M1 occlusion at our center. Blood pressure measurements from available records at the time of EMS activation to the time of reperfusion were used to calculate an averaged pre-reperfusion mean arterial pressure (MAP). All patients in our analysis had successful reperfusion. Our endpoint was a mRS ≤2 at 90 days. The averaged MAP was grouped as follows: ≥85mmHg, ≥90mmHg, ≥95mmHg, ≥100mmHg, ≥110 mmHg and ≥115mmHg. We considered hourly epochs from symptom onset to reperfusion, pre-treatment ASPECTS, thrombolytics, and collateral status. Significant parameters from a univariate analysis were included into a multivariate logistic regression to determine independent predictors of outcome. The multivariate findings were then validated with a prospective set of similar patients evaluated with our mobile stroke treatment unit. Results: We reviewed 52 patients. Mean age was 70; NIHSS was 16±6; 40% (21) received t-PA; median ASPECTS score was 10; TICI 3 score was achieved in 63% (33), and 67% (35) had a good outcome. The number of patients having a mean arterial blood pressure threshold were as follows: ≥85mmHg (96%), ≥90mmHg (83%), ≥95mmHg (73%), ≥100mmHg (58%), ≥110mmHg (31%) and ≥115mmHg (15%). Reperfusion occurred as follows: ≤3hrs (4%), ≤4hrs (21%), ≤5hrs (39%), ≤6hrs (52%), ≤7hrs (67%), ≤8hrs (79%), ≤9hrs (87%), and ≤12hrs (90%). Our multivariate logistic regression model identified an average pre-reperfusion MAP ≥95mmHg as the sole factor statistically associated with a better outcome post successful thrombectomy [OR 15.1, CI 1.3-170.1,p=0.02]. Good clinical outcome in those patients with an averaged MAP ≥95mmHg was 76% and 43% in those below the threshold [OR 5.2, p=0.02]. Our validation cohort consisted of 32 patients, and a pre-reperfusion averaged MAP ≥ 95 mmHg had a sensitivity of of 93% for a good outcome. Conclusion: Our analysis suggests with validation that a pre-reperfusion averaged MAP ≥ 95mmHg results in better outcomes with successful thrombectomy and may be used as a therapeutic target in the pre-hospital setting.

BACKGROUND A change in the pupillary light reflex (PLR) is a sensitive indicator for detecting expanding intracranial lesions. Changes in PLR may be a prognostic marker for patients with intracranial lesions. The purpose of this analysis was to explore how PLR readings, size, constriction velocity (CV), dilation velocity (DV), Neurologic Pupil Index (NPi), and latency predict clinical outcome in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage. METHODS This is a secondary analysis of prospectively collected multicenter registry data. The within-subject standard deviation (WSD) of PLR values, NPi, size, CV, DV, and latency were explored as predictors of discharge modified Rankin Scale (mRS) in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhagic. RESULTS Among 4403 pupillary readings from 82 patients with a diagnosis of subarachnoid hemorrhage, with a mean age of 57.7 years, the admission Glasgow Coma Scale median score was 14 (eye, 4; verbal, 4; motor, 6), and the mRS median was 0 on admission and 4 at discharge. Correlation between standard deviation of PLR values and discharge mRS was moderate and negative (r = -0.3 to -0.47, P < .01). The standard deviations for NPi, size, CV, and DV were significant for predicting discharge mRS (r = 0.23-0.28, P < .05) after controlling for admission Glasgow Coma Scale. CONCLUSION Patients with higher WSD PLR values showed better outcomes (ie, lower mRS at discharge), suggesting that patients with narrower WSD PLR are at a higher risk for poor outcomes.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, restrictions on reimbursement for telehealth visits were lifted and this visit type was suddenly available to patients around the United States of America. Telehealth visits offer potential cost savings for patients and families, which may vary by region of the world studied. Also, aggressiveness of the care patients receive may differ, and patients or families may be more likely to choose one visit type over another based on seizure control. This is a prospective face-to-face clinic versus telehealth clinic visit comparison study involving patients with seizures, their legal guardians, and caretakers who attend clinic. We compared travel distance, work-related factors, childcare, satisfaction of care, changes in seizure medication or diagnostics tests ordered, and willingness to cancel appointments to better understand the behavioral patterns of patients, caretakers, and providers. Our results indicate that many patients and families still prefer in-person interactions with their medical providers. Patient and family satisfaction levels were equal with both visit types. No significant difference was seen in medical management between face-to-face and telehealth visits. Also, prior seizure control did not dictate the type of visit chosen. Telehealth participants were significantly more willing to cancel appointments if asked to switch to face-to-face then face-to-face participants asked to complete telehealth visits. Surprisingly, we found that patients and families choosing telehealth were not statistically more likely to be employed or take less time off work. Also, distance from home to office was not significantly shorter for participants choosing face-to-face visits. Offering a combination of telehealth and face-to-face visits appears to be the optimal strategy in caring for patients with controlled and uncontrolled seizure disorders to ensure adherence with clinic visits and satisfaction with care. Our study suggests that providers are equally willing to adjust medications or order additional diagnostic testing regardless of visit type. Patients and families may be less likely to cancel telehealth visits than face-to-face visits; this finding may translate to improved seizure control and long-term decreased cost of care.

To enhance nursing staff retention and ensure a consistently high standard of care, a study was conducted to determine an appropriate nurse staffing model for a neurocritical care unit. In addition to being critically ill, these patients often require extensive diagnostic testing to determine treatment. Nurses traveling with patients leave higher nurse-patient ratios remaining on the unit.Prospective observation was used to assess relationships between neurologic assessment, documentation, and the amount of time spent traveling with patients. Patient acuity and nursing experience were also measured.Over the 30-day study period, more than 226 hours were spent traveling, equivalent to approximately 38% of a single nurse's shift. There was no correlation between the experience of nurses and the time necessary to perform a neurologic assessment. When controlling for acuity, a relationship was found between nursing experience and the time needed to chart an assessment.Significant time was spent every day off the floor, in addition to the documentation and performance of frequent assessments. These results advocate for a staffing position without a dedicated patient assignment but to assist with traveling and high-acuity patients so that safe and attentive care can be consistently given.

The field of neurointerventional radiology (NIR) therapy, including acute ischemic stroke intervention, endovascular intracranial aneurysm management, and treatment of intra- and extracranial large-vessel disease, has evolved over the past 18 years. To support this specialized advanced care requires nursing standards of care for staff to provide direct patient care in NIR suites and intensive management of this high-risk patient population. The intent of this paper is to provide a complementary document for the Stroke Interventional Laboratory Consensus (SILC) statement that will specifically address the nursing standards of care for patients in an NIR suite.

Targeted temperature management (TTM) is often used in neurocritical care to minimize secondary neurologic injury and improve outcomes. TTM encompasses therapeutic hypothermia, controlled normothermia, and treatment of fever. TTM is best supported by evidence from neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, although it has also been explored in ischemic stroke, traumatic brain injury, and intracranial hemorrhage patients. Critical care clinicians using TTM must select appropriate cooling techniques, provide a reasonable rate of cooling, manage shivering, and ensure adequate patient monitoring among other challenges. The Neurocritical Care Society recruited experts in neurocritical care, nursing, and pharmacotherapy to form a writing Committee in 2015. The group generated a set of 16 clinical questions relevant to TTM using the PICO format. With the assistance of a research librarian, the Committee undertook a comprehensive literature search with no back date through November 2016 with additional references up to March 2017. The Committee utilized GRADE methodology to adjudicate the quality of evidence as high, moderate, low, or very low based on their confidence that the estimate of effect approximated the true effect. They generated recommendations regarding the implementation of TTM based on this systematic review only after considering the quality of evidence, relative risks and benefits, patient values and preferences, and resource allocation. This guideline is intended for neurocritical care clinicians who have chosen to use TTM in patient care; it is not meant to provide guidance regarding the clinical indications for TTM itself. While there are areas of TTM practice where clear evidence guides strong recommendations, many of the recommendations are conditional, and must be contextualized to individual patient and system needs.

External ventricular drain (EVD) placement is a common practice in neurocritical care units. The EVDs are the "gold" standard and the most cost-effective treatment for intracranial hypertension and hydrocephalus caused by a variety of neurological conditions. The EVD drains excess cerebrospinal fluid in an attempt to maintain balance within the cranial vault and provides intermittent monitoring of intracranial pressure. This invasive procedure, as with any other procedures, carries an increased risk of a device-related infection that can lead to devastating consequences such as meningitis, ventriculitis, and death. This article will discuss how Riverside Methodist Hospital, which is located in Central Ohio, identified an increase in the rate of EVD infections in 2007 and responded with changes in procedure and processes. The implementation of the improvement plan has resulted in 25 months without an EVD infection, a triumph for the patients, staff, and the hospital system.