Critical care neurology is a branch of medicine involved with patients who have had/are at risk for severe and acute nervous system injury. Aster Hospitals offers several treatment options in neurocritical care. Their fully modernized neurocritical facilities help take care of patients until they are healthy enough to have a better standard of living.
A brain trauma injury can change your life forever. It can severely affect how a person thinks, feels, behaves, moves, and remembers. With the latest technological development, remarkable progress has been made in treating and rehabilitating patients who have had brain injuries due to diseases or trauma.
Types of brain injury
To understand types of brain injury, it is essential to know how the brain functions and what are the major brain areas.
Basic brain structure:
- Frontal lobe: This involves all actions of the motor function, problem-solving, and judgment.
- Parietal lobe: This area controls the body position, handwriting, and sensations.
- Occipital lobe: It controls the body's visual actions.
- Temporal lobe: Hearing and memory are controlled by this area of the brain.
- Brain stems: It controls basic functions like breathing, heart rate, sleep-wake cycle, consciousness, attention, and concentration.
Injuries to the neurological system
Skull fracture
A fracture of the skull can be a break in one or more bones around the brain. Often, these fractures heal on their own with minimal medical help.
Contusion
A contusion is any bruise to the brain tissue that may not be very serious. Surgery is usually not indicated.
Symptoms of contusion:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Memory problems
- Passing out
Epidural hematoma
It is the condition in which blood accumulates between the brain and the dura mater (covering of brain). Surgery may be advised in many cases to help reduce the blood pressure in the surrounding tissues.
Subdural hematoma
This occurs when a brain bleeds outside the brain tissue. An acute subdural hematoma happens when the bleeding takes place rapidly after a bruise to the brain. A chronic subdural hematoma bleeds for weeks or even months after any trauma to the brain. Several cases of subdural hematoma require surgery due to increasing pressure on the brain.
Anoxic brain injury
It is a brain injury that happens due to reduced/loss of blood supply to the brain.
Signs of brain injury that may require neurocritical care are as follows:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Aggression
- Psychological changes in personality
- Loss of consciousness
Other symptoms may include:
- Confusion: Mental confusion associated with agitation and the inability to understand the surroundings can occur after brain injury. This is treatable with medications under family supervision.
- Cognitive issues: Memory loss, communication problems, attention deficit, and the inability to understand situations and make judgments.
Sometimes the most problematic effects of a brain injury are the changes in the personality of the individual, such as stress, irritability, agitation, feelings of denial, lack of motivation, depression, anxiety, mood swings, and loss of emotional control.
Health Conditions Treated
- Hemorrhagic stroke
- Ischemic stroke
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage
- Traumatic brain injury
- Traumatic injury to the spinal cord
- Status epilepticus
- Infections such as encephalitis, meningitis
- Neuromuscular emergencies, such as myasthenia gravis or Guillain Barre syndrome
- Autoimmune disorders of the nervous system
- Brain and spinal cord tumors
- Hydrocephalus
- Arteriovenous malformations like aneurysms
- Neurological complications of systemic disorders
FAQs
At Aster Hospitals we provide the highest quality of care and a transformative experience for all your healthcare needs. With our network of multi-speciality hospitals, specialised doctors, and world-class technology, we bring global standards of medical care to our patients.
What are some of the questions asked after a suspected brain injury?
- When did you fall?
- How did you fall?
- Did you experience nausea after the fall?
- Did you pass out after falling?
- Do you remember anything before the fall?
Which are the three most common head injuries.
- Contusion
- Hematoma
- Skull fracture
How common is brain injury globally?
Brain injury is a leading cause of life-long health issues worldwide. The latest data show that it accounts for 27–69 million cases a year.
What are some of the questions asked after a suspected brain injury?
- When did you fall?
- How did you fall?
- Did you experience nausea after the fall?
- Did you pass out after falling?
- Do you remember anything before the fall?
Which is the most traumatic brain injury?
Diffuse axonal injury is the most dangerous type of brain trauma. It happens when the connecting fibers between the brain and the surrounding tissues are broken due to vigorous shaking or twisting of the brain tissue inside the skull.
Does stress cause brain injury?
No
Is brain damage curable?
No, it is not possible to cure permanent damage to the brain. Medication, auxiliary treatment, and surgeries are done to increase the quality of life of brain-damaged patients.
Advanced Technology & Facilities
Aster Hospitals’ neurocritical facilities aim to help and serve patients with any acute injury to the nervous system. Our multi-bed Neuro-ICU unit is medically equipped for critical neuro care. All rooms are facilitated with continuous EEG monitoring.
Other amenities include:
- 24 hour MRI screen
- 24-hour CT scanner with CT angiography and cerebral perfusion studies
- 24-hour continuous digital EEG monitoring
- Transcranial Doppler ultrasound
- Hypothermia for brain protection
- Intracranial tissue oxygenation monitors
CT scan (computed tomography)
A CT or CAT scan uses computer technology to provide a detailed picture of the brain and meninges to locate the exact position of brain injury. During the test, the patient is made to lie on a table with their head in a large, semicircular machine that takes X-ray pictures of the brain. Typically, a CT scan is painless and comfortable. It takes about 15–45 minutes to complete a scan, depending upon the findings to be determined.
MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
An MRI machine employs a strong magnetic field and radio waves to form a 3-D picture of the brain. The patient must lie still within the MRI machine (scanner) for about 30 minutes during an MRI. An MRI scan gives more detailed brain imaging data than other imaging methods.
