Neurocritical Care

The Neurocritical Care Program at Penn Medicine

Neurocritical Care is a field of medicine that deals with patients who have had or who are at risk for severe, acute nervous system injury.  Penn Medicine is home to one of the best neurocritical care programs in the country.  Our neurocritical care program is internationally recognized for its excellence in clinical care, research, and education.

Our Mission:
“The Penn Neurocritical Care Program aims to serve patients with severe acute injury to the nervous system through provision of exceptional, compassionate, cutting-edge care, to make important discoveries through innovative research that lessen the burden of suffering from nervous system injury, and to train the next generation of international leaders in Neurocritical Care.”

Our Patients:
We are a regional, national, and international referral center for the treatment of patients with severe, acute nervous system injuries and diseases, and for patients who require both elective and urgent neurosurgical procedures.  We have experience and expertise in a wide range of acute conditions including:

• Ischemic stroke
• Hemorrhagic stroke (intracerebral hemorrhages)
• Subarachnoid hemorrhage
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
• Traumatic spine and spinal cord injury
• Seizures and Status Epilepticus
• Infections of the nervous system, such as meningitis and encephalitis
• Neuromuscular emergencies, such as myasthenia gravis and Guillain-Barre syndrome
• Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system
• Tumors of the brain and spinal cord
• Hydrocephalus
• Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs)
• Cerebral aneurysms 
• Neurological complications of systemic disease, (e.g. cardiac arrest) 

We also provide consultations or ongoing outpatient care for patients who have had mild, moderate, or severe traumatic brain injury in our Traumatic Brain Injury clinic.