Historical Vignette

The Early Days of the Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit

Critical care medicine came into sharp focus in the second part of the 20th century. The care of acutely ill neurologic patients in the USA may have originated in postoperative neurosurgical units, but for many years patients with neurocritical illness were admitted to intensive care units next to patients with general medical or surgical conditions. Neurologists may have had their first exposure to the complexity of neurocritical care during the poliomyelitis epidemics, but few were interested. Much later, the development of neurocritical care as a legitimate subspecialty was possible as a result of a new cadre of neurologists, with support by departments of neurosurgery and anesthesia, who appreciated their added knowledge and expertise in care of acute neurologic illness. Fellowship programs have matured in the US and training programs in certain European countries. Certification in the USA is possible through the American Academy of Neurology United Council of Neurologic Specialties. Most neurointensivists had a formal neurology training. This chapter is a brief analysis of the development of the specialty critical care neurology and how it gained strength, what it is to be a neurointensivist, what the future of care of these patients may hold, and what it takes for neurointensivists to stay exemplary. This chapter revisits some of the earlier known and previously unknown landmarks in the history of neurocritical care.