SMACC BRAIN (EMERGENCY MEDICINE): NEXT LEVEL NEURO RESUS FOR THE ED
Discover why “Special K”, aka ketamine, really is special and the role it plays in neurocritical care. Not only a useful anaesthetic agent, ketamine is emerging as a drug with multifaceted uses in the neuro population. Maintaining respect for its pharmacological properties and side effects will allow the prescriber to embrace its benefits and minimise adverse events. On the other hand, re-coagulating the anti-coagulated neuro patient is fraught with systemic hurdles, haematologists, large costs and often undesirable results. A whirlwind overview of what is available, and the “who, when and where” of administering reversible agents for anticoagulated patients will also be covered in this neuropharmacology talk.
Claire Seiffert
Claire is currently an ICU Clinical Fellow at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney. She is a born and bred Victorian having grown up in Mildura before completing a Physiotherapy degree in Melbourne. She then moved to Canberra where she completed her medical degree. She has special interests in bariatric medicine, neurocritical care, innovative medical education and retrieval medicine. Claire is a passionate John Farnham fan and a loyal Geelong AFL supporter. She is a mum to a little boy that has also independently developed the same passions.
“Neuropharmacology”: The one (and only) “Special K” + a whirlwind tour of re-coagulating the anti-coagulated patient