RECENTLY FEATURED NEUROSURGICAL SPINE PUBLICATIONS: NEURO CRITICAL CARE PROGRAM OF EXCELLENCE NEWS

In the recent strategic planning for our department, it was clear that a more robust Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) program was needed at the University of Colorado. Although the clinical expertise is here, TBI care suffers from being fragmented, needing significant improvement in care coordination and patient flow. Under the direction of Kevin Lillehei, MD (Neurosurgery), Dr. Delia Bakeman (Neurology) and Dr. Michael Greher (Neuropsychology), a task force has been formed to develop a comprehensive and “state-of-the-art” TBI program.

According to the CDC, TBI is a major cause of death and disability. There were over 64,000 TBI-related deaths in the United States in 2020. That’s about 176 TBI-related deaths every day.

TBIs affect the lives of people of all ages. Anyone can experience a TBI, but data suggest that some groups are at greater risk of dying from a TBI or experiencing long-term health problems after the injury. These include racial and ethnic minorities, service members and veterans, people experiencing homelessness, people who are in correctional or detention facilities, survivors of domestic violence and even people living in rural areas.

Although there are three categories of TBI (major, moderate and mild), we will first be focusing on major injuries (those that result in stays in our Neuro ICU). We will work to ensure these patients have faster access to outpatient services and are flowing more effectively across levels of care and accessing all resources available. Those with moderate and mild TBI’s will also be targeted for better multi-disciplinary communication and connection.

Although there are numerous departments involved, including Neurology, Physical Medicine & Rehab, Trauma and others, the Neurosurgery Department faculty included in this initiative are listed below.

Recently Featured Publications In Neuro Critical Care

Kowalski RG, Ledreux A, Violette JE, Neumann RT, Ornelas D, Yu X, Griffiths SG, Lewis S, Nash P, Monte AA, Coughlan

CM, Deighan C, Grotta JC, Jones WJ, Graner MW. Rapid activation of neuroinflammation in stroke: Plasma and extracellular vesicles obtained on a mobile stroke unit. Stroke. 2023 Feb 02 https://doi.org/10.1161/STROKEAHA.122.041422

Snider SB, Kowalski RG, Hammond FM, Izzy S, Shih SL, Rovito C, Edlow BL, Zafonte RD, Giacino JT, Bodien YG. Comparison of Common Outcome Measures for Assessing Independence in Patients Diagnosed with Disorders of Consciousness: A Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Study. J Neurotrauma. 2022 Sep;39(17-18):1222-1230. doi: 10.1089/neu.2022.0076.

Epub 2022 Jun 20. PMID: 35531895; PMCID: PMC9422782.