When the brain suffers an injury, the effects can be delayed and unpredictable. Cerebrospinal fluid can slowly build up, causing dangerously high levels of intracranial pressure (ICP), and the brain tissue can be displaced into adjacent compartments, resulting in cerebral herniation syndrome (CHS). Within the burgeoning field of neurocritical care, experts are just beginning to understand the nuanced, sometimes counterintuitive relationship between ICP and CHS.  

 

Written by leading researchers who also have extensive first-hand clinical experience treating brain injury patients, Cerebral Herniation Syndromes and Intracranial Hypertension provides an up-to-date guide to this complex aspect of neurocritical care. Drawing from expertise gained working in high-volume medical centers, the book’s contributors reveal that there is no universal metric for gauging acceptable levels of intracranial pressure. Instead, they demonstrate the best practices for offering patients individualized care, based on their specific conditions and manifest symptoms.  
 

Bringing together internationally-renowned neurocritical care experts from a variety of neurology, critical care, surgery, and neurosurgery disciplines, this volume takes a comprehensive look at a complicated issue. A concise, practical, and timely review, Cerebral Herniation Syndromes and Intracranial Hypertension offers vital information for all medical personnel concerned with improving neurocritical patient care.  

 

MATTHEW KOENIG, MD, FNCS is an associate medical director of neurocritical care at The Queen’s Medical Center, and an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine in Honolulu. He is the author of dozens of peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, and is also co-editor of the book Neurological Consultations in the ICU.