Ethical and Legal Considerations of Neurocritical Care

Neurocritical care units have a higher incidence of ethical and legal concerns compared with other intensive care units due to the life-threatening nature of the medical care, often resulting in loss of consciousness. Neurocritical care intensivists are tasked with evaluating uncertainty, identifying a surrogate, and communicating with loved ones. This chapter addresses several of the main issues related to surrogacy, neuroprognostication, brain death, and respecting cultural differences in standards of care.