Neurosurgical emergencies Flashcards
What is GCS and what does it measure?
Glasgow Coma Scale
level of consciousness
Below what GCS is a patient in a coma?
8
What nerve controls the pupil response to light?
oculomotor nerve
Mnemonic for remembering what to look for on head CTs?
Blood Can Be Very Bad
Blood
Cisterns
Brain
Ventricles
Bone
What is the delivery of oxygen and glucose to neurons dependent on?
cerebral blood flow
What is cerebral blood flow dependent on?
cerebral perfusion pressure
Equation for cerebral perfusion pressure
CPP = MAP-ICP
What process maintains a normal intracranial pressure in healthy individuals?
autoregulation
What is the surgical treatment for subdural haematomas that develop a few days or weeks after a minor head injury?
Burr holes
Basal ganglia blood supply
Lenticulostriate arteries
What is the most common cause of a SAH?
ruptured Berry aneurysm
What scale is used to grade SAH and vasospasm risk
Fisher scale
What investigations do patients with a SAH need to look for a cause?
CT angiogram - look for aneurysms
If CT angiogram detects no aneurysms, a catheter angiogram is needed
What is hydrocephalus?
excess brain fluid
raised ICP
What are the 2 types of hydrocephalus?
communicating
obstructive