NCS Roundup

By Panayiotis (Panos) N. Varelas, MD, PhD, FAAN, FNCS May has arrived and even in Upstate New York, nature is changing fast, few days after the last (maybe?) snow. There are already little buds in the trees and even some flowers. Everything is changing, with eternal cycles that repeat themselves, but also with changes that in our lifetimes do not repeat themselves and to our eyes seem dramatically new. Climate change may be one that I witness in my lifetime. Changes happen in a Society like ours, which behaves like a living and thriving organism. ...

Brianna Burlock, MD, MPH; Eric C. Lawson, MD ( @EricLawson90 ) Moderator: @gdomeni Authors: @GreerWaldrop, @sas_mdphd , @MeganRx1 Link to Twitter Thread: https://twitter.com/neurocritical/status/1503728992792231940?s=21 March’s Twitter journal club, done in conjunction with the Curing Coma Campaign ( @CuringComa ) and American Neurological Association ( @TheNewANA1 ), featured a discussion on the article, “Prolonged unconsciousness is common in COVID-19 and associated with hypoxemia” by Greer Waldrop et al. This was ...

By Panayiotis (Panos) N. Varelas, MD, PhD, FAAN, FNCS Yes, There is Hope We are in April and nature is slowly waking up from its white hibernation in the northern states. As I was writing this, I could not restrain myself from drawing a parallel with a major achievement of NCS, the second annual World Coma Day, which just occurred. I hope many of you joined us for the full day of content, but even the few hours of connecting were eye-opening for many of us. Even for providers who work in neuro-ICUs and encounter comatose patients ...

Eric C. Lawson, MD; Karen Berger, PharmD Moderator: @karenccrx Authors: @sa_saldana1 ; @pharmer_mikerx Full Twitter Thread : https://twitter.com/neurocritical/status/1485992755977457665?s=21 January’s Twitter Journal Club featured a discussion on the article, Comparison of Clevidipine and Nicardipine for Acute Blood Pressure Reduction in Hemorrhagic Stroke by Sara Saldana et al. This study was a single-center retrospective observational cohort study with a primary outcome of time to goal systolic blood pressure. Secondary outcomes ...

By Panayiotis (Panos) N. Varelas, MD, PhD, FAAN, FNCS A Focus on Spring As we are moving towards the Ides of March, there is a glimpse of hope that this gloomy day of yore, immortalized as a deadly warning in William Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, may not be as bad this year. Even though the pandemic is still here and still affects patients we treat daily in our ICUs, the most recent data seemingly show we are heading towards weathering the storm. Is it going to go away and disappear like a bad dream or linger at a low endemic ...

By Panayiotis (Panos) N. Varelas, MD, PhD, FAAN, FNCS Planning for the Future While Staying Safe Dear NCS Members, As we are heading towards February, the world here in Albany and for many colleagues up north, is a snowy white world and a world of scarcity. Behind the windows I was looking at the birds and squirrels next to each other devouring the seeds that my wife and I have thrown out in our snow-filled yard of 2 below zero Fahrenheit. These little creatures survive the harsh winter as we, in a warmer enclosure, survive the letters ...

By Panayiotis (Panos) N. Varelas, MD, PhD, FAAN, FNCS Looking Ahead to a New Year Dear NCS Members, As we leave behind a remarkable year and 2022 reaches our shores, I have started thinking — what should we continue and what should we change in this new year  The easy answer is, of course, that we would like to get rid of COVID and return to normalcy. Easier said than done. But we are heading toward that direction with more people having access to vaccination and deciding to explore it. At the same time, we see surges of cases in our ...

By Panayiotis (Panos) N. Varelas, MD, PhD, FAAN, FNCS Reflecting on 2021: A Year of Celebration and Success for NCS Dear NCS Members, Well, we did it! We hosted the first hybrid Annual Meeting in Chicago, with more than 700 in-person attendees and another 600 joining us virtually. How did it feel? Everyone I’ve asked said it was “so much better to see each other three-dimensionally!” Despite the fear of COVID and the new normal of wireless interactions these days, we are still social animals. We need to interact with real people, even without ...

By Panayiotis (Panos) N. Varelas, MD, PhD, FAAN, FNCS A Stronger, Better NCS Dear NCS Members, As your 14th President, I want to look at the past accomplishments of the Society. It was not so long ago in that inaugural meeting in Phoenix that the Society took a bones-and-flesh form. I still vividly remember going out in the open hotel terrace and talking to this small group of not more than 200 people about what we envisioned for NCS. I remember the excitement! Since then, a lot of water has run down the river: the Society has grown to more ...

“Stories of Hope” is a popular column on the Neurocritical Care Society’s Currents content center. This series has been uplifting patients and providers alike since its founding. To support NCS’s Curing Coma ® initiative, which aims to develop and implement coma treatment strategies that improve human lives, we invite you to share your stories. We are seeking submissions for your "Stories of Hope" that specifically showcase inspiring stories related to coma, stroke or TBI. We hope to use these experiences to create stories and profiles to ...

Hana Nobleza, Marin Darsie, H.E. Hinson, Deepa Malaiyandi, and Diana Greene-Chandos The past year has been hard for all of us. Our resilience, commitment and passion to our patients, and profession have been put to the test. Despite the challenge that the year brought, the Inclusion in Neurocritical Care Committee (INCC), section and its members have been working to uphold the NCS commitment to enhancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion within the society.   With that said, we wanted to share the upcoming INCC and INCC-related events taking ...

The Neurocritical Care Society is excited to launch the 2021 issue of Currents , featuring a compilation of articles published on Currents over the past year. This special annual issue highlights themes of adapting our life, and our practice, to our ever-changing world. Download your copy to read stories of navigating the ongoing pandemic, the commitment to diversity and inclusion, the business of neurocritical care, the popular "Stories of Hope" and more. Currents  highlights innovative ideas and perspectives from multidisciplinary neurocritical ...

By Wade Smith, MD, PhD, FNCS A 'See You Soon' and a 'Farewell' Dear NCS Members, As I write my final message as NCS President, I’m looking forward to connecting with you all at the NCS 19th Annual Meeting — in both our Chicago and virtual venues. On behalf of the Board of Directors and Annual Meeting Committee, I am pleased to share that NCS will be moving forward with our Annual Meeting as planned, with both in-person and virtual participation options. Offering two ways to attend is a fantastic opportunity to reconnect personally and professionally ...

Co-Chairs of the Member Sites Module Chethan Venkatasubba Rao, MD, FNCS cprao@bcm.edu Briana Witherspoon, DNP, APRN, ACNP Briana.Witherspoon@UTSouthwestern.edu Curing Coma®  is the signature clinical, scientific, and public health effort of the Neurocritical Care Society. Curing Coma is comprised of several modules, all of which share the common goal of advancing the campaign’s mission (1, 2). The role of the Member Sites module is to create and maintain a platform that engages and facilitates multidisciplinary participation from ...

By: Kelly A. Rath and Diane C. McLaughlin On Behalf of the NCS APP Leadership Section “The brain is the organ of destiny. It holds within its humming mechanism secrets that will determine the future of the human race.” Wilder Penfield, Neurosurgeon   Despite historically considered “born” in the beginning of the 20 th century, and many reports of early neurosurgery being performed centuries before that, neurocritical care itself is a relatively new specialty.  The Neurocritical Care Society was founded in 2002, with the field being recognized as ...

By Shweta Goswami, MD; Eunice J Lee, MD; Rachael Scott, PharmD, BCCCP; Naomi Niznick, MD; Sasha Yakhkind, MD; Pouya Ameli, MD, MS; and Marc Babi, MD The role of practice management education—an umbrella term to describe salary negotiation, billing and coding, law and malpractice, and so on—has been lacking in residency and fellowship programs across the country. In fact, prior surveys have indicated a nearly universal lack of confidence in these topics among trainees across different specialties. Meanwhile, some specialties such as family medicine ...

By Wade Smith, MD, PhD, FNCS Fulfilling Our Mission Through Education Dear NCS Members, Fall brings with it many new beginnings, and as students return to school, we as neurocritical care practitioners can take the time to enhance our own practice, as well. While we may have already completed our formal education, continuing education is a crucial part of our career. By keeping up with what’s new in the field, we stay current with the science and knowledge that helps us improve patient care. As an NCS member, you have access to a library ...

By Wade Smith, MD, PhD, FNCS Exceptional Service, Academic Excellence and Leadership Dear NCS Members, I hope you are having a wonderful summer and that you’ve taken time to recharge and reconnect with family and friends. The NCS 19th Annual Meeting, taking place in Chicago and online, is just two months away, and I’m looking forward to seeing you and experiencing the in-depth education that’s in store for us together. In this month’s issue of President’s Update , I’m pleased to share some extraordinary news that celebrates many members ...

By Wade Smith, MD, PhD, FNCS A Mid-Year Check-In Dear NCS Members, It’s hard to believe we’re halfway through 2021. Over the past six months, we’ve made significant strides in COVID-19 recovery, and many cities and states across the United States are looking forward to a safe return to our normal lives and activities. In fact, even live music events are resuming, as the Foo Fighters just played Madison Square Garden’s first full-capacity concert since March 2020 . A safe return to our hobbies means things are surely looking up for our ...

By Wade Smith, MD, PhD, FNCS The Value of Volunteer Leadership Dear NCS Members, A foundation of NCS is its volunteers. As a member, if you have not yet volunteered for a role in NCS, please consider doing so. Serving as your NCS President in a year when we are emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic was challenging but an honor. It is so gratifying to witness the members of our society working on the frontlines of healthcare at all times, especially over the past 16 months. I have served as an NCS volunteer leader for several years, and my ...