Caring for Patients with Neurological Disorders
A Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit (NSICU) is a specialized hospital unit where patients with neurological disorders receive state-of-the-art treatment. The NSICU cares for patients with injuries to the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and muscles. The medical and nursing staff are specially trained to provide the intensive care patients in the unit require.
NSICUs require highly skilled staff and state-of-the art equipment to provide the best care possible. NSICUs therefore are mostly found in large academic medical centers such as MUSC. In fact, in South Carolina MUSC is the only NSICU unit staff by fellowship-trained neurointensivists.
The NSICU staff is composed of nurses, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech pathologists, registered dietitians, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, and attending physicians. Medical students, residents, and fellows (physicians performing advanced training) are also an integral part of the team and function under the supervision of the attending physicians. All members of the team work together to provide the best care possible for our patients.
Conditions that are treated in a NSICU:
- Epidural Hematoma (EDH)
- Glioblastoma
- Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS)
- Intracranial Hemorrhage (ICH)
- Ischemic Stroke
- Meningioma
- Myasthenia Gravis
- Pituitary Tumor
- Spinal Cord Injury
- Status Epilepticus
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)
- Subdural hematoma (SDH)
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
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