A Nationwide Survey on the Practice of End-of-life Care Issues in Critical Care Units in India.

Background: End-of-life (EOL) care is the care of terminally ill patients who are nearing their end. It includes important components like palliative care, supportive care, hospice care, patient's right to choose, and choice of medical intervention, including continuation of routine medical interventions. The aim of this survey was to assess the practices of EOL care in various critical care units in India. Methods: The participants included clinicians involved in EOL care of patients with advanced diseases in different hospital across India. We sent blast emails and posted links on social media for inviting participants to take the survey. Study data were collected and managed by using Google Forms. The collected information was automatically entered into a spread sheet and stored in a secure database. Results: In total, 91 clinicians took the survey. The years of experience, practice area, and setting had significant effect on the palliative care, terminal strategy, and prognostication in terminally ill patients (p < 0.05). Statistical analysis was done using software STATA. Descriptive statistics were performed, and results were presented as number (percentage). Conclusion: The years of work experience, the practice area, and the practice setting have a strong impact on EOL care management of terminally ill patients. There are a lot of gaps in providing EOL care for these patients. Many reforms are needed in the Indian health care system to make EOL care better. How to cite this article: Kapoor I, Prabhakar H, Mahajan C, Zirpe KG, Tripathy S, Wanchoo J, et al. A Nationwide Survey on the Practice of End-of-life Care Issues in Critical Care Units in India. Indian J Crit Care Med 2023;27(5):305-314.

The Curing Coma Campaign®: Concerns in the Indian Subcontinent.

Background: The Curing Coma Campaign (CCC) was launched by the Neurocritical Care Society (NCS) in 2019, with the purpose to bring together a diverse group of coma scientists, neurointensivists, and neurorehabilitationists. Methods: The aim of this campaign is to move beyond the limitations imposed by current definitions of coma and identify mechanisms to improve prognostication, identify test therapies, and impact outcomes. At the moment, whole approach of the CCC appears ambitiously challenging. Results: This could be true only for the Western world, such as the North America, Europe, and few developed countries. However, the whole concept of CCC may face potential challenges in the lower-middle income countries. India has several stumbling blocks that need to and can be addressed in the future, for a meaningful outcome, as envisaged in the CCC. Conclusion: India has several potential challenges, which we aim to discuss in this article. How to cite this article: Kapoor I, Mahajan C, Zirpe KG, Samavedam S, Sahoo TK, Sapra H, et al. The Curing Coma Campaign®: Concerns in the Indian Subcontinent. Indian J Crit Care Med 2023;27(2):89-92.

"No Time to Die" - Saving the Neurons.

How to cite this article: Sapra H. "No Time to Die" - Saving the Neurons. Indian J Crit Care Med 2022;26(5):539-540.

Intensive Care Unit-acquired Weakness: A Frequent but Under-recognized Threat.

How to cite this article: Sapra H. Intensive Care Unit-acquiredWeakness: A Frequent but Under-recognized Threat. Indian J Crit Care Med 2021;25(9):969-971.

Pathophysiological Mechanisms and Neurological Manifestations in COVID-19.

With increasing knowledge of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), we now understand that COVID-19 presents with various extrapulmonary manifestations with multi-organ involvement. Involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) occurs probably via transsynaptic spread or transfer across the blood-brain barrier. Hypoxia, immune-mediated injury, and vascular damage are the potential mechanisms for the CNS manifestations. Headache, dizziness, chemosensory disturbances, such as loss of smell, taste, encephalopathy, stroke, etc., are among the commonly encountered neurological presentations. Headache is identified as one of the red flag symptoms for COVID-19. Sudden onset of loss of smell and/or taste in the absence of nasal congestion can help in COVID-19 case identification and testing prioritization. Both hemorrhagic and ischemic brain injury is common in patients developing stroke. Besides these, COVID-19-associated CNS involvement demands more careful attention toward patients with existing neurological disorders especially that are managed with immunosuppressant agents. In all, neurological involvement in COVID-19 is not uncommon and may precede, occur concomitantly or after the respiratory involvement. It may also be the sole presentation in some of the patients necessitating high vigilance for COVID-19. In this review, we briefly discussed the pathogenesis of CNS involvement and some important neurological manifestations in COVID-19. How to cite this article: Zirpe KG, Dixit S, Kulkarni AP, Sapra H, Kakkar G, Gupta R, et al. Pathophysiological Mechanisms and Neurological Manifestations in COVID-19. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(10):975-980.

Practice Implications for Acute Ischemic Stroke during the COVID-19 Pandemic for the Indian Scenario: Realistic and Achievable Recommendations by the Society of Neurocritical Care (SNCC), India.

COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS coronavirus has caused significant morbidity and mortality around the world ever since it was first declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. Acute neurological manifestations of this disease have also started emerging and being recognized around the world and acute ischemic stroke (AIS) or thrombotic stroke is becoming one of the major neurological illnesses related to COVID-19. The management of AIS is time-critical and major advances in its management over the recent years, such as bridging thrombolysis and mechanical thrombectomy (MT), are multidisciplinary activities requiring robust coordination and management in the acute setting. All these advances are severely challenged in the COVID-19 pandemic where severe pressures exist on the clinical resources and logistics required to deliver an effective stroke service. This is further compromised by legal and preventive measures during this pandemic like local lockdowns. Reporting of minor or initial symptoms has also been compromised due to the fear of approaching healthcare settings which are perceived as high-risk zones to catch the infection. The purpose of this document is to highlight these challenges and provide a guiding framework for the management of AIS under three principles: (a) Delivering an effective service, (b) Preventing infections within the healthcare setting, and (c) Optimizing resource utilization. How to cite this article: Kakkar G, Zirpe KG, Sapra H, Dixit S, Chugh C, Nagaiyan S, et al. Practice Implications for Acute Ischemic Stroke during the COVID-19 Pandemic for the Indian Scenario: Realistic and Achievable Recommendations by the Society of Neurocritical Care (SNCC), India. Indian J Crit Care Med 2020;24(9):757-762.

Managing Meningoencephalitis in Indian ICU.

How to cite this article: Sapra H, Singhal V. Managing Meningo-encephalitis in Indian ICU. Indian J Crit Care Med 2019;23(Suppl 2):S124-S128.

Dyselectrolytemia as a Predictor of Prognosis in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: In the Clink or Still in the Dock?

How to cite this article: Sapra H. Dyselectrolytemia as a Predictor of Prognosis in Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: In the Clink or Still in the Dock? Indian J Crit Care Med 2019;23(12):545-546.

An Unusual Cause of Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome.

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a clinical radiographic diagnosis of heterogeneous etiologies. The pathogenesis of PRES remains unclear, but may be related to impaired cerebral autoregulation and endothelial dysfunction. We present a case of intravascular nonionic contrast-induced PRES observed after cerebral angiography. The index patient was a follow-up case of large vertebrobasilar artery-dissecting aneurysm for which endovascular coiling was done 6 months back. She improved completely within a week. Contrast-induced PRES is a reversible benign condition, knowledge of which is crucial for appropriate management.

Surpass Flow Diverter in the Treatment of Ruptured Intracranial Aneurysms-A Single-Center Experience.

BACKGROUND: Use of a Surpass flow diverter (FD) device in the treatment of acutely ruptured aneurysm has not been well studied and reported in the literature. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage who were treated by Surpass FD placement at our hospital between June 2016 and March 2018. Detailed analysis of medical records was performed to obtain patient age, gender, clinical history, Hunt and Hess grade, Fisher grade, results of radiographic and procedural details including technical success and complication, clinical outcome, and follow-up angiographic results. RESULTS: Our search identified 16 patients with 16 aneurysms who were treated with Surpass FD, of which 13 aneurysms (81%) were in the anterior circulation and 3 (19%) were in the posterior circulation. Aneurysm size ranged from 1.1 to 16 mm, with a mean of 4 mm. The mean delay between subarachnoid hemorrhage and endovascular treatment was 5 days (range, 3-20 days). Only 1 Surpass FD was used in each patient, ranging in size from 3 × 25 mm to 4 × 50 mm. Fifteen patients (94%) achieved favorable clinical outcome (modified Rankin Scale score 0-1) at 3 months. One patient died of invasive fungal infection. Angiographic follow-up results were assessed by O'Kelly-Marotta grading scale in 15 surviving patients and showed a grade D result (no filling) in 13/15 aneurysms (87%) at 3 and 6 months. CONCLUSIONS: A Surpass FD device is a feasible option for the treatment of ruptured intracranial aneurysms that are difficult to treat by conventional clipping and coiling; however, larger and comparative studies with long-term follow-up are needed to confirm its safety and efficacy.

Undetected hypoparathyroidism: An unusual cause of perioperative morbidity.

Routine investigation of serum calcium is not recommended in ASA one and two patients unless abnormalities of calcium metabolism are clinically suspected. The clinical features of hypocalcaemia can often be subtle and may manifest in the presence of associated factors. Hypoparathyroidism, an important cause of hypocalcaemia, often presents as soft tissue calcification (ostosis). Ligamentum flavum ostosis can present with compressive myelopathy requiring laminectomy. We report a case of ligamentum flavum ostosis and subclinical hypocalcaemia due to hypoparathyroidism, who went undetected pre-operatively resulting in significant post-operative morbidity.

Severe aortic stenosis and subarachnoid hemorrhage: Anesthetic management of lethal combination.

Despite advances in various modalities of management, subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) continues to be associated with high mortality, which is further increased by associated comorbidities. Aortic stenosis (AS) is one such disease which can further complicate the course of SAH. We recently managed a known patient of severe AS, who presented with aneurysmal SAH. Patient was planned for eurovascular intervention. With proper assessment and planning, patient was managed with favorable outcome despite the restrictions faced in the neurovascular intervention laboratory.