Main description:

The first edition of Seizures in Critical Care: A Guide to Diagnosis and Therapeutics, which appeared in 2005, filled an important need in the ar- mentarium of the neurological, neurosurgical, and medical intensivists who deal with seriously ill patients in the ICU setting. Unlike epilepsy, as it u- ally presents in the outpatient department, seizures in ICU patients are nearly always secondary phenomena that signify that something is seriously amiss in very ill patients with primary medical or surgical disease. The job of the int- sivist is to identify the cause of the seizure or seizures, examine the myriad of potential contributing factors, and provide appropriate management and tre- ment that takes all aspects of the patient's illness into consideration. As in the first edition, Dr. Varelas and his associates recognize the extreme importance of prompt recognition, diagnosis, and sophisticated management of seizures in this group of seriously ill patients. Dr. Varelas has now recollected his group of contributors and produced a new and up to date compendium of what one needs to know in order to work effectively in this difficult and demanding area.
A welcome addition to the new edition is the chapter by Friedman and Hirsch on the role of continuous monitoring in the ICU which is essential for the diagnosis and treatment of nonconvulsive seizures as these may be the most common form of seizures in this setting but are often missed in the evaluation of patients in stupor or coma.

Contents:

1. Presentation and pathophysiology of seizures in the Critical Care environment: an overview. Marek A. Mirski MD PhD 2. Seizure monitoring in the ICU Invitation: Lawrence J. Hirsch, MD 3. Stroke and Critical Care seizures Panayiotis Varelas, MD, PhD and Lotfi Hacein Bey, MD 4. Traumatic Brain Injury and seizures in the ICU Andrew Beaumont, MD, PhD and Grant Sinson, MD 5. Brain Tumors and ICU seizures Efstathios Papavassiliou, MD and Panayiotis N. Varelas, MD, PhD 6. Global Hypoxia-Ischemia and Critical Care Seizures Matthew A. Koenig, MD and Romergryko Geocadin, MD 7. Seizures in Renal and Hepatic Failure and Endocrine Disease Invitation: Paul Vespa, MD, PhD 8. Seizures in Organ Transplant Recipients Greg A. Worrell, MD and Eelco FM. Wijdicks, MD, PhD, F.A.C.P. 9. Extreme Hypertension, Eclampsia and Critical Care Seizures Michel Torbey, MD, MPH, FAHA 10. Infection or Inflammation and ICU seizures Wendy C. Ziai, MD 11. Electrolyte Disturbance and Critical Care Seizures Jose I Suarez, MD 12. Alcohol Related Seizures in the Intensive Care Unit Invitation: Thomas Bleck, MD, FAAN, FACP, FCCM, FCCP 13. Drugs Used for the Critically Ill inducing Critical Care Seizures Invitation: Denise Rhoney, PharmD and Panayiotis N. Varelas, MD, PhD 14. Critical Care seizures related to illicit drugs and toxins Andreas R. Luft, MD 15. Management of status epilepticus and critical care seizures Panayiotis N. Varelas, MD, PhD and Marianna V. Spanaki, MD, PhD