Neurocritical care or neurointensive care is a branch of medicine that emerged in the 1980s and deals with life-threatening diseases of the nervous system, which are those that involve the brain, spinal cord and nerves. The doctors who practice this type of medicine are called neurointensivists, and can have medical training in many fields, including neurology, anesthesiology, emergency medicine, or neurosurgery. Common diseases treated in neurointensive care units include strokes, ruptured aneurysms, brain and spinal cord injury from trauma, seizures (especially those that last for a long period of time- status epilepticus, and/or involve trauma to the patient, i.e., due to a stroke or a fall), swelling of the brain (intracranial edema), infections of the brain (encephalitis) and the brain’s or spine’s meninges (meningitis), brain tumors (especially malignant cases; with neurological oncology), and weakness of the muscles required to breathe (such as the diaphragm). 

Besides dealing with critical illness of the nervous system, neurointensivists also treat the medical complications that may occur in their patients, including those of the heart, lung, kidneys, or any other body system, including treatment of infections.

 Most neurocritical care units are a collaborative effort between neurointensivists, neurosurgeons, neurologists, radiologists, pharmacists, physician extenders (such as nurse practitioners or physician’s assistants), critical care nurses, respiratory therapists, rehabilitation therapists, and social workers who all work together in order to provide coordinated care for the critically ill neurologic patient.