Neurologic disorders are often progressive, may be incurable, and commonly lead to significant disability. Palliative care is an important aspect of their management and may be required at any stage of the disease process. This chapter focuses on one specific…
Dementia is a common problem among the elderly and is associated with a number of important systemic complications. Epidemiologic studies estimate the prevalence of Alzheimer disease, the most common form of dementia, in the United States to be approximately 3…
Consciousness is a complex and elusive concept that has been the subject of extensive thought and speculation by philosophers, theologians, and scientists since antiquity. The fact that consciousness may mean different things depending on the context (philosophy, religion, science) demonstrates…
The diagnosis of disorders of the neuromuscular system involves localizing the lesion anatomically and then weighing the validity of specific diagnostic hypotheses. Symmetry and rapidity of the disease process are major diagnostic considerations. Pure motor syndromes localize to the anterior…
Headache disorders are very common, and therefore they often co-exist with one or more significant medical illnesses. This pairing can complicate the diagnosis of both the headache disorder and general medical conditions, while raising a number of treatment conflicts. In…
Movement disorders may complicate a variety of general medical diseases. Evaluation of patients with involuntary movements or postures requires a detailed history, including an account of perinatal events, ethnicity, parental consanguinity, psychiatric disorders, past medications, exposure to infectious agents, immunologic…
Seizures commonly arise in persons without epilepsy as a symptom of various general medical disorders, and they can have important implications for the treatment and prognosis of the primary disease. The occurrence and management of seizures in common medical conditions…
Injury to other organ systems may have a direct or remote effect on the neurologic system. Hepatic, cardiac, pancreatic, and renal dysfunction can directly affect neurologic transmission and function through a variety of mechanisms. This chapter will examine what is…
Current rates of anesthetic complications are low regardless of the type of anesthesia (general, regional, or local). Yet among the complications that may occur, those affecting the nervous system are perhaps the most feared ( Table 55-1 ). This chapter…
Introduction Perioperative care of the patient with neurologic disease provides practitioners with a number of unique challenges ranging from timing of surgery, administration of medications, and anesthetic choices, to postoperative care. This chapter focuses on common neurologic disorders and the…