Edited by Fabio Silvo Taccone
Adequate treatment of patients with acute brain injury aims to optimize cerebral perfusion as to minimize the occurrence of secondary injuries. However, several questions on the optimal management still remain unanswered. In this review series published in Critical Care, the appropriate use of sedative and analgesic agents will be discussed; indeed, sedation may provide some neuroprotection in the most severe patients but it should be also interrupted to allow clinical daily examination. Similarly, the best approach to guide fluid administration and blood transfusion will be accurately examined. The important issue of the regulation and bedside assessment of cerebral circulation may provide significant proposals in order to avoid cerebral hypoperfusion in these patients. Finally, the management of cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid haemorrhage, which remains one of the main causes of poor neurological outcome, will be discussed.