The goal of NICUs are to provide early and aggressive medical interventions including managing pain, airways, ventilation, anticoagulation, elevated ICP, cardiovascular stability and secondary brain injury.

Admission criteria includes: Impaired consciousness, impaired ability to protect airway, progressive respiratory weakness, need for mechanical ventilation, seizure, Radiologic evidence of elevated ICP, monitoring of neurologic function in patients that are critically ill. Neuro-ICU have been seeing increasing use at Tertiary referral hospital.

One of the main reasons why Neuro-ICUs have seen increased use is the use of therapeutic hypothermia which has been shown to improve long-term neurological outcomes following cardiac arrest.

Patients in the neurointensive care units (NICU) are vulnerable due to their primary injury, and in need of help with all their personal hygiene.

Therefore, it is the nurse’s obligation to plan for the interventions so that a balance is achieved between the benefits for the patient’s wellbeing and the risk of raised ICP, which might cause secondary insults.

High ICP can be prevented by giving extra sedation before intervention, optimizing the patients position with a raised head and stretched neck to avoid venous stasis.

[5] Basic life support monitoring: Electrocardiography, pulse oximetry, blood pressure, assessment of comatose patients.

Intracranial pressure (ICP) management: Ventricular catheter to monitor Brain oxygen and concentrations of glucose and PH.

[7] Encephalitis: Airway protection, monitoring of ICP, treatment of seizures if necessary, and sedation if patient is agitated and virial testing hemodynamic stability.