NCS Roundup

By Monisha Kumar MD FNCS (left), Molly McNett, PhD, RN, CNRN, FNCS  (right) The development of evidence-based clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) is one of the most valuable and visible functions of the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) and critical to its mission. As such, the Guidelines Committee (GC) of NCS has experienced tremendous growth and evolution since its inception only ten years ago. Key accomplishments include an increase in the number of guidelines produced on behalf of the society, enhancements to ensure methodological rigor, adherence ...

By Dr. Jeff Singh, MD, MSc, FRCPC This year’s NCS Annual Meeting ventures outside the United States to Vancouver, Canada.  Vancouver is a beautiful and bustling west coast city in the Canadian province of British Columbia, and is the third- largest metropolitan area in Canada with a population of over 2 million. It is among Canada’s densest and most ethnically diverse cities. Vancouver’s unique geography places it at the nexus of the sea, beaches and mountains—providing a spectacular backdrop for the NCS meeting as well as a lot to do and see for all ...

By Masao Nagayama, MD, PhD, FAAN, FACP, FNCS From June 7 to 9, 2019, we held the second Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) Asian and Oceanian Chapter Annual Meeting at Osaka and Kyoto with the Japan Society of Neurological Emergencies and Critical Care (JNE), a global partner of the NCS. Invited guests from the United States (Gretchen M. Brophy, Jose I. Suarez, Gene Sung), Korea (Sang-Bae Ko, Jae Hyeon Park, Kwang-Soo Lee), India (Harsh Sapra, Ponniah Vanamoorthy, Saurabh Anand), Philippines (Geraldine Siena Mariano, Jo Ann Soliven), Singapore (Jensen ...

By Mary Kay Bader, RN, MSN, CCNS, FNCS, FAHA  (left) ; Lori Shutter, MD, FCCM, FNCS (right) As co-chairs of the 2019 NCS Annual Meeting , we are excited to share with our fellow NCS members information on what to expect at the meeting to be held October 15-18! Our theme, Connectivity—Working Together, Improving Lives, is intended to bring our multi-professional society membership together for five days of knowledge transfer, research collaboration, interactive learning sessions, networking and enjoying the incredible city of Vancouver, British ...

By Jennifer A. Kim, MD, PhD   Surveys are a crucial tool for polling our NCS community regarding all aspects of our research and practice.  The NCS Research Operations Subcommittee (ROSC) [Editor’s note: see ROSC list below] is committed to ensuring transparent and rapid review for all researchers wanting to utilize the membership for their various studies. By developing a newly vetted formal review process, we hope to distribute of high-quality, targeted surveys that are valuable to the members of the NCS community, while also increasing the response ...

By Lauren Koffman, DO, MS   Between May 22 and 24 over 5,000 people from over 100 countries were present in Milan, Italy for the European Stroke Organization Conference (ESOC). As a first time participant, I was excited to explore the conference offerings. This year’s conference was held at the Milano Convention Center, the largest in Europe and over 2,400 abstracts were submitted for the meeting. The three-day conference was full of events ranging from digital poster presentations, workshops, scientific meetings, networking events and exhibitions. ...

By Kelly A. Rath ACNP Section Chair: Megan Brissie, DNP, RN, ACNP-BC, CEN Section Co-Chair: Liz Fox, MSN, ACNS, AG-ACNP, FAHA   The NCS Advanced Practice Providers (APP) Section is pleased to announce the release of two APP educational products. First, the APP Neuroanatomy and Neuroradiology Series is a four-part webinar series covering neuroanatomy, lesion localization and neuroimaging. This product provides an in-depth overview of cortical and brainstem anatomy, and is an ideal resource for APPs, or other clinicians, to build a basic neuroanatomy ...

By Yasser B. Abulhasan, MBChB, FRCPC Chairman, Neurocritical Care-MENA Chapter of IPACCMS It was a pleasure organizing the 1 st Neurocritical Care Regional Meeting in the Middle East/Africa in conjunction with the 15 th edition of the Emirates Critical Care Conference (ECCC). This demonstrated the evolving strong partnership between the International Pan Arab Critical Care Medicine Society (IPACCMS) and the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS). It was a true bilateral effort, and we believe it will continue to be so to advance the education ...

By Christa O’Hana S. Nobleza, MD, MSCI, (left) and Diana Greene-Chandos, MD, FNCS (right) The Women in Neurocritical Care (WINCC) recently announced the creation of the WINCC Mentorship Subsection headed by Christa O’Hana S. Nobleza, MD, MSCI. This Subsection is composed by a multidisciplinary group of women members including Christa Swisher, Stacey Bennett, Salia Farrokh and Julia Durrant. There are currently several projects ongoing under this Subsection. The most recently launched program is the WINCC Speakers Program . If you are someone in ...

By Currents Editor   Fostering research that advances the field of neurocritical care is one of NCS’ top strategic priorities. The NCS Research Committee reviews survey requests and grants approval for surveys to be sent to NCS members. Below, you will find the latest approved surveys. Please take a few minutes to complete surveys if the target audience applies to you. Survey completion helps fellow NCS members in their research endeavors. Thank you for your time and consideration. Milrinone and SAH Survey Survey of milrinone use in patients ...

By Sasha Yakhkind (left) and Christa O’Hana S. Nobleza, MD, MSCI (right) Do you have questions regarding your professional life? Is there a conundrum at work that requires an outside perspective? The Trainee Section and Women in Neurocritical Care (WINCC) Section have teamed up to publish a new column in Currents to serve your professional advice needs.   Submit questions to info@neurocriticalcare.org , and we will get them answered by a seasoned advisor . We believe in lifelong learning and mentorship, and this column, along with our ...

Dovile Svirupskaite, Section Administrator By Ariane Lewis The Neurocritical Care Society Ethics Committee has created an Ethics Section to allow all members of the Society to pose ethical questions and debate about ethical topics.  This is the Society’s twelfth Section (it joins the list of other Sections, including those for for Advanced Practice Providers, Fellowship Directors, Global Members, NCS Members, Non-Neurologists, Nurses, Pediatric Neurocritical Care, Pharmacists, Physicians, Trainees and Women in Neurocritical Care).  Participation ...

By Jody Manners, MD  Diana Greene-Chandos, MD, was born in Canton, Ohio, but grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona. She began her medical training at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in 1992, taking a year off in the middle of medical school for a research fellowship funded by the Howard Hughes Institute, during which time she worked in a neurosurgical research laboratory at the University of Washington studying neuronal plasticity. After medical school, she completed a neurology residency at Washington University in St. Louis in 2001, and did ...

By Maha Aljuaid, RN, BSN, MSN, acute-care CNS, nurse specialist, Neurocritical Care Unit, King Abdulaziz Medical City, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; and Faisal Al-Suwaidan MBBS, SBN, SFCCM, consultant of adult neurology, critical care medicine, neurological and neurosurgical critical care, chairman Neurocritical Care Department, National Neuroscience Institute, King Fahad Medical City, Ministry of Health, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Historical Background Medicine ...

By Masao Nagayama, MD, PhD, FACP, FAAN, FNCS; professor, Department of Neurology, International University of Health and Welfare Graduate School of Medicine; chair, Annual Meeting of the NCS Asian and Oceanian Chapter 2019 On behalf of the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) Asian and Oceanian Chapter and the Japan Society of Neurological Emergencies and Critical Care (JNE), a global partner of the NCS, we are pleased and honored to host the Second Regional Meeting of the NCS Asian and Oceanian Chapter in Japan on June 8-9, 2019 in Kyoto and Osaka. ...

By Lauren Koffman, DO, MS   This is the second installment in a Currents series featuring neurocritical researchers who have been awarded K awards. Each person was asked to describe their research background, experience with the application process and a bit about their research project. The recurrent advice of these successful researchers is to establish a supportive network of mentorship, and collaborate within and outside of your department/institutions. Thank you again for your insight and participation in this series. Susanne Muehlschlegel, ...

By Brian Gilbert, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, Emergency Medicine Clinical Pharmacy Specialist, Wesley Medical Center, Wichita KS Coagulopathies in neurocritical illness is common. Traumatic brain injury (TBI), subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and acute ischemic stroke (AIS) each pose unique practice dilemmas for identifying optimal regimens for neuroresuscitation. Thromboelastography (TEG), first introduced approximately 70 years ago, is a method to test viscoelastic properties of whole blood and associated coagulopathies. 1 ...

By Michael L. “Luke” James, MD Since 2007, the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties (UCNS) has been the recognized certification and accreditation body for Neurocritical Care (NCC). UCNS now accredits 69 NCC training programs and certifies 1,337 diplomates. The measures of expertise for certification of the diplomates and the standards for training program excellence have been established by respected representatives nominated by the sponsoring organizations: the Neurocritical Care Society and the American Academy of Neurology’s Critical Care ...

By Jacob Manske, MD, and Teresa Lee, MD The University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia, is the largest hospital in the country. With over 1,600 beds, it serves as the main referral hospital and trains many of Zambia’s medical students, residents and nurses. Through a partnership with several American neurologists working at UTH, Rush University Medical Center (RUMC) in Chicago began sending two neurology residents per year to work for a month at UTH in 2017. Drs. Jacob Manske and Teresa Lee, currently fourth year neurology residents at Rush, ...

By Jensen Ng, MBBS, MMed Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH) was founded in 1844 and is the second largest hospital in Singapore with a capacity exceeding 1,500 beds. It is strategically located in Central Singapore, at the intersection of two major highways. The Neuroscience ICU (NICU) of TTSH has been in operation since the official opening of the current hospital premises in 2000. Since then, it has expanded to its current capacity of 14 Level 3 beds and four Level 2 Beds. The NICU functions as a single unit under the leadership of the NICU Director ...

By Catrice Nakamura, RN, MSN, CCRN-K, SCRN, and Diana Serondo, RN, NVRN-BC Mechanical thrombectomy in the setting of a large vessel occlusion has become a standard of care in the management of acute ischemic stroke. Despite the ample literature available to support care before and during these procedures, few publications focus on the details surrounding care of these patients in the immediate post-operative period. As mechanical thrombectomies are becoming more common, the argument could be easily be made for increased nursing education on the care ...

By Peter J. Papadakos, MD, FCCM, FAARC The last number of months has brought the issue of violence and sexual harassment into the news cycle. Employers and universities have rolled out programs to address discrimination and sexual harassment in the workplace. Health professionals and support staff are not immune from this issue. Media are full of reports of highly trained and educated healthcare workers assaulting each other, rising reports of sexual harassment and gender issues and assaults by patients and families on their health providers. The reasons ...

By Yasser B. Abulhasan, Chairman, Neurocritical Care-MENA Chapter of IPACCMS, and Hussain N. Al Rahma, President, IPACCMS It is a great pleasure to welcome you all to the first Regional Neurocritical Care Meeting in the Middle East and Africa, which was developed in partnership between the International Pan Arab Critical Care Medicine Society and the Neurocritical Care Society as part of the 15th Emirates Critical Care Conference (ECCC) on April 4-6, 2019, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (www.eccc-dubai.com). There will be a highlighted full day neurocritical ...

By Jamil R. Dibu, MD, Section Head, Neurologic Critical Care Unit, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Why is Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi? As a direct expansion of the Cleveland Clinic model of care, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi builds on almost 100 years of excellence at Cleveland Clinic, aligning its services to meet the specific needs of the United Arab Emirates population. The hospital is the result of an agreement signed in 2006 between Mubadala Investment Company and U.S.-based Cleveland Clinic, in support of the Abu Dhabi government’s ...

By Sara Hocker, MD; Shraddha Mainali, MD; and Andrew Naidech, MD The fifth Neurocritical Care Research Conference, “The Future of Neurocritical Care Research: Looking for a Blue Ocean,” was held in Boca Raton, Florida, on Sept. 25, 2018. The primary aim of this interdisciplinary scientific symposium was to bring together scientists and healthcare professionals from diverse fields with a common interest in understanding and advancing research in neurocritical care and to set the agenda for the future direction of the Neurocritical Care Research Network ...

By Wren Sherrill, MSN, ACNP, and Alexis Steinberg, MD, on behalf of the NCS Trainee Committee Mentorship is a time-honored practice of developing an individual’s skills, talents and experience. It refers to a special relationship in which someone with more experience helps guide a less experienced individual. A mentor refers to someone who positively impacts a protégé by providing guidance, fostering insight and encouraging growth. Mentorships can be formal or informal and can be found in academia, the medical field and corporations. Often, people ...

By Sang-Bae Ko, MD, PhD The Korean Neurocritical Care Society (KNCS) held the first regional Asian Chapter Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) Meeting in conjunction with KNCS Winter Symposium on Dec. 14-15, 2018 in Seoul, South Korea. The original idea for boosting quality of neurocritical care in Asia had been discussed with Dr. Gene Sung, and KNCS are lucky to have a chance to host the first Asian Chapter meeting in Seoul with a full support from Asian neighbors including Japan, Philippines, Nepal, India, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia. All Asian ...

By Andrew Cheng, MD How do you measure neurological outcome after acute brain injury? What is the optimal dose and duration of targeted temperature management after cardiac arrest? How does this differ in traumatic brain injury? And how can this be best measured and monitored in the neuro-ICU? These were among some of the questions posed, discussed and debated at the recent seventh International Hypothermia and Temperature Management Symposium, held in Sydney, Australia, from Aug. 28-30, 2018. The Sofitel Darling Harbour, next to the new Sydney ...

By Jason Makii, PharmD, MBA, FCCM, FNCS, BCPS, BCCCP, Chair, Pharmacy Section Leadership Committee The pharmacy section continues to expand, and we have celebrated numerous successes this past year. Continued recruitment efforts have resulted in over 175 pharmacist members within the section, an increase from last year. Over 65 pharmacists attended the annual meeting in Florida last September with various members presenting their research, moderating sessions and speaking on various topics throughout the annual meeting. I would like to acknowledge ...

By Lauren Koffman This is the first installment in a Currents series that will feature neurocritical researchers who have been awarded career development awards, or K awards. Each person was asked to describe their research background, experience with the application process and a bit about their research project. Jonathan Elmer, MD, is at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and says that writing the first draft of the grant was a learning experience but fun. Dusting the application off a year later to revise and respond to the pink sheet ...

By Michel Torbey, MD, MPH, FNCS, FAHA, FCCM, FANA, Immediate Past President, NCS; Chair, NCS Global Partners Committee We finally have a Global Members Section! NCS leadership has been working on developing the section concept for the last two years. The new website changes finally made it a reality. Any NCS member can join the Global Member Section community. The goal is to make this a platform to exchange ideas, science and education across the globe. I encourage all members in the United States and internationally to join the section. In June, ...

By Yasser B. Abulhasan, MBChB, FRCPC, Chairman, Neurocritical Care-MENA Chapter of IPACCMS The International Pan Arab Critical Care Medicine Society (IPACCMS) and the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) are partnering to develop the First Regional Neurocritical Care Meeting in the Middle East and Africa in conjunction with the upcoming 15th Emirates Critical Care Conference (ECCC) April 4-6, 2019, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. This step was initially conceived during the 2018 ECCC because of the fruitful collaboration since 2011 and the success of ...

By Dheeraj Khurana, MD 1 (left); Kiran Jangra, MD 2 (center); and Gagandeep Singh, MD, DM 3 (right) Department of Neurology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Department of Neuroanesthesia, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research Department of Neurology, Dayanand Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana Neurocritical care is a vast specialty that covers various subspecialities, including neurology, neurosurgery, neuroanaesthesiology and interventional neuroradiology. In India, this field is most developed ...

By Gentle Sunder Shrestha, MD, FACC, EDIC, FCCP, Neurointensivist, Assistant Professor, Department of Anaesthesiology, Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu, Nepal Nepal is a landlocked South Asian nation, bordered by China on the north and India in the south, east and west. Nepal has the population of around 26.4 million, with the land area of 147,181 km2. The GDP of Nepal is USD 837 per capita. Countries like Nepal and other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) have a high burden of neurological emergencies. The burden ...

By Masao Nagayama, MD, PhD, FACP, FAAN, FNCS, Professor, Department of Neurology, International University of Health and Welfare Graduate School of Medicine I am pleased to announce that the Japanese subsession titled “From Terrorism to Complementary Medicine,” will be held at the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) 16th Annual Meeting. This session was made possible by Gretchen M. Brophy, president of NCS, and Jose I. Suarez, chair of the annual meeting, the theme of which is “Neurocritical Care Without Borders.” In this session, diverse topics are ...

By Pouya Ameli, MD-MS (left) ; Alexis Steinberg, MD (center); and Winnie Lau, MD (right) This year, the Resident and Fellow Committee (RFC) has organized several events for the 16th Annual Meeting in Boca Raton. Our committee’s goal is to help neurocritical care trainees with career advancement, including residents, fellows, junior attendings, APPs and pharmacists. To this end, we hope you find our events at the annual meeting helpful. All trainees and junior attendings are welcome to attend RFC events, which are summarized below, along with several ...

By Jennifer Kim, MD, PhD (left); and Michael Diringer, MD (right) Publishing is often a major part of advancement in an academic career. Clinicianscientists, including nursing and pharmacy, work throughout their careers to bring their research to the world through publications such as the Neurocritical Care journal. The peerreview process often seems daunting and clouded in mystery. However, as one begins to advance in their career, they may find they are now asked to serve as a reviewer themselves. Most do not undergo any formal training to take on ...

By PJ Papadakos, MD, FCCM, FAARC Over the last decade, I have observed the rapid growth of our society as we have progressed into a worldwide professional organization advocating for state-of-the-art care of critically ill patients suffering from neurological conditions. This growth has led to the widespread availability of neuro- ICUs staffed by dedicated professionals in many communities. However, often rapid growth leads to confusion in the community regarding exactly what it is we do. How have we added to the care of patients, and what has the ...

By Shaheryar Hafeez, MD 1 (left); Michel T. Torbey, MD, MPH, FNCS, FAHA, FCCM, FANA 2,3 (center); and Diana Greene-Chandos, MD 2,3 (right) Department of Neurosurgery, UT Health Science Center San Antonio Department of Neurology, The Ohio State University College of Medicine Department of Neurosurgery, The Ohio State University College of Medicine The aim of neurocritical care fellowship training, as outlined by the UCNS, is to “prepare the physician for the independent practice of Neurocritical Care 1 .” The way to achieve this objective is ...

By Lauren Koffman, DO, MS Natalie Kreitzer completed an emergency medicine residency and neurocritical care fellowship at the University of Cincinnati. Her fellowship was a combined stroke/ research/neurocritical care T32 fellowship. After training, she stayed at the University of Cincinnati as faculty with a combined role in working in emergency medicine and neurocritical care. In her free time, she stays busy with her two sons, Jackson and Tyler. She is now working on developing a research-oriented career, specifically in helping guide care ...

The NCS Pharmacy Committee is excited to receive applications for the Invited Clinical Pharmacist (ICP) Program annually starting this November. The purpose of this program is to promote and increase the practice of neurocritical care pharmacy by sending qualified neurocritical care pharmacists to selected institutions that wish to expand or initiate neurocritical care pharmacy services. The invited clinical pharmacist is expected to interact with the pharmacy and neuro-ICU teams, provide lectures, attend rounds or perform other relevant activities that ...