title: Cardiac emergencies in neurosurgical patients.
abstract: Perioperative safety concerns are a major area of interest in recent years. Severe cardiac perturbation such as cardiac arrest is one of the most dreaded complications in the intraoperative period; however, little is known about the management of these events in the patients undergoing elective neurosurgery. This special group needs further attention, as it is often neither feasible nor appropriate to apply conventional advanced cardiac life support algorithms in patients undergoing neurosurgery. Factors such as neurosurgical procedure and positioning can also have a significant effect on the occurrence of cardiac arrest. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to describe the various causes and management of cardiac emergencies with special reference to cardiac arrest during elective neurosurgical procedures, including discussion of position-related factors and resuscitative considerations in these situations. This will help to formulate possible guidelines for management of such events.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Health Sciences Center, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3E 0Z2.
authors.forename: Tumul
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-8946-4148
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chowdhury
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Health Sciences Center, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3E 0Z2.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petropolis
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Health Sciences Center, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada R3E 0Z2.
authors.forename: Ronald B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Cappellani
mesh_terms: D004630:Emergencies; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D019635:Neurosurgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects*; D059035:Perioperative Period; D012449:Safety