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Emergency Neurological Life Support: Intracranial Hypertension and Herniation

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Abstract

Sustained intracranial hypertension and acute brain herniation are “brain codes,” signifying catastrophic neurological events that require immediate recognition and treatment to prevent irreversible injury and death. As in cardiac arrest, a brain code mandates the organized implementation of a stepwise management algorithm. The goal of this emergency neurological life support protocol is to implement an evidence-based, standardized approach to the evaluation and management of patients with intracranial hypertension and/or herniation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine, Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Radiology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Robert D. Stevens

  2. Pediatric Critical Care Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA

    Michael Shoykhet

  3. Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Emergency Medicine, University of North Carolina School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Rhonda Cadena

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  1. Robert D. Stevens
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  2. Michael Shoykhet
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  3. Rhonda Cadena
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Correspondence to Robert D. Stevens.

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Stevens, R.D., Shoykhet, M. & Cadena, R. Emergency Neurological Life Support: Intracranial Hypertension and Herniation. Neurocrit Care 23 (Suppl 2), 76–82 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12028-015-0168-z

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