Workshops

NCS Annual Meeting workshop sessions require an additional fee. Virtual workshops are available in the virtual platform only to registered attendees.  Please note that all times below are listed in Central Daylight Time (CDT).

In-Person Workshops

Workshops

The following three workshops will take place in person in San Antonio, Texas.

Airway Management
Tuesday, October 18 | 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Directed by Kamila Vagnerova, MD
Faculty: Sarah Biel, MD, H.E., MCR, Miriam Treggiari, MD, Kathryn Rosenblatt, MD, Ross Martini, MD

This hands-on workshop teaches fundamentals of airway management and critical care bronchoscopy. Brief didactic sessions cover indications, techniques and devices in case-based reviews. Participants then get to practice fundamental intubation skills including the use of airway rescue devices at instructor-led skill stations. This workshop is meant for critical care providers of all backgrounds who want to gain basic airway management skills.

1. Learn basic airway management skills, mask ventilation and basic airway adjuncts.
2. Understand and use supraglottic airway devices for rescue ventilation.
3. Perform direct and indirect laryngoscopy and intubation using videolaryngoscopy.
4. Understand airway anatomy and practice diagnostic bronchoscopy.
5. Practice airway management in neurocritically ill patients in different scenarios.

Basic Transcranial Doppler (TCD)
Tuesday, October 18 | 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Directed by Alexandra Reynolds, MD
Faculty: Shivani Ghoshal, MD, Jeff Vitti, MD, PhD, Nicole O’Brien, MD, Kaitlin Reilly-Kit, MD

In this workshop will cover Transcranial Doppler techniques, interpretation of waveforms for hemodynamics assessment and overview of clinical applications of Transcranial Doppler. Topics will include the use of TCD for inpatient stroke assessment (including flow reversal, emboli monitor, assessment for shunt); TCD in monitoring SAH patients for vasospasm; using TCD for assessment of elevated intracranial pressure and cerebrocirculatory arrest; and pediatric applications.

This session is intended for attendees seeking an introduction to the basics of Transcranial Doppler (TCD) including basic TCD waveform analysis and hands-on learning of TCD acquisition. Familiarity with basic principles of ultrasound is expected but not mandatory.  Most didactics will be provided pre-workshop and must be reviewed prior to attending this session.

1. Understand the basics of TCD waveform analysis.
2. Be able to acquire TCDs of the anterior and posterior circulation.
3. Interpret data obtained from embolic monitoring and CO2 reactivity studies.

Critical Care Ultrasound
Tuesday, October 18 | 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Directed by Neha Dangayach MD, MCSR, FNCS, FAAN
Faculty: Carla Venegas, MD, Christopher Zammit, MD, FACEP, FNCS, Shivani Ghoshal, MD, Kaitlin Reilly-Kit, MD, Vasisht Srinivasan, MD, Judy Ch’ang, MD, Shraddha Mainali, MD

This workshop for POCUS practitioners at the novice or beginner level will provide participants with rigorous instruction in the acquisition and use of point of care ultrasonography (POCUS) for cardiopulmonary assessments in the neurocritical care setting. Attendees will learn introductory knobology for image optimization using different POCUS machines and get hands-on practice for performing cardiac and lung POCUS at skill stations. Participants will receive high-quality pre-recorded lectures to prepare for this hands-on workshop, which will include the fundamentals and applications of cardiac and lung POCUS, case-based reviews, clinical algorithms for incorporating cardiac and lung POCUS in the rapid assessment and management of critically ill patients in the neuro-ICU.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand knobology for imaging optimization using different ultrasound systems.
2. Understand and apply fundamental principles of lung POCUS in neurocritical care patients.
3. Understand and apply fundamental principles of cardiac POCUS in neurocritical care patients.

Virtual Workshops

The following six workshops will take place virtually.

Applied Neuromonitoring
Friday, October 14 | 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Directed by Brandon Foreman, MD, MS, FACNS, FNCS
Faculty: Brian Appavu, MD, Ari Ercole, MD, PhD, Soojin Park, MD, Peter Smielewski, PhD, Eric Rosenthal, MD

This workshop provides case-based discussion of principles and practical implementation of multimodal neuromonitoring. Fundamentals of data acquisition, analysis, and visualization will be covered.

Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss practical definitions of “multimodality monitoring” and how it might be used to provide clinical care based on new consensus data.
2. Characterize challenges and demonstrate solutions for connectivity and data aggregation using available tools/platforms to enhance accessibility and utility.
3. Demonstrate navigation of neuromonitoring data using real cases and hands-on participation.
4. Interpret multimodality monitoring data using case examples and learn how multimodality monitoring information can be reported to clinical teams.

Critical Care EEG - Basic
Friday, October 14 | 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Directed by Christa Swisher, MD, FNCS, FACNS
Faculty: Rana Moosavi, MD, Gregory Kapinos, FNCS, MD, Hiba Haider, MD, Dionne Swor, DO, Asma Zakaria, MD, Chris Newey, DO, MS, FNCS

This workshop provides a case-based discussion of basic concepts of EEG and its use in critical care. This introductory workshop is meant for attendees with little or no formal EEG training, typically those who are not neurologists.

Learning Objectives:

1. Appreciate how EEGs are acquired/read and the appearance of normal EEG patterns.
2. Recognize which critically ill patients are at risk for seizures and common indication for continuous EEG monitoring.
3. Understand basic terminology used to describe EEGs of critically ill patients.
4. Recognize typical EEG patterns seen in ICU patients.
5. Understand the diagnostic criteria for electrographic seizures in ICU patients.

Bioinformatics
Friday, October 14 | 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Directed by Raj Dhar, MD
Faculty: Julian Acosta, MD, Ari Ercole, MD, PhD

This workshop will provide practical didactic discussions of core concepts in data science as applied to neurocritical care research and expert-led hands-on experience with data manipulation and analyses, focusing on clinical, physiologic, and genomic data. This workshop is suitable for those with basic knowledge in statistics and computing, who wish to learn more about data science and informatics research. Coding experience (e.g. Python, R) is helpful, but not mandatory.

1. Become more comfortable manipulating and visualizing ICU physiologic data.
2. Employ machine learning to predict ICU outcomes using clinical and physiologic data.
3. Understand core principles of population genetics analyses.
4. Apply genomic analyses such as polygenic risk and Mendelian randomization to understand the genetic contribution to ICU phenotypes.

Advanced Hemodynamics
Friday, October 14 | 1:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Directed by Christos Lazaridis, MD, EDIC
Faculty: Faten El Ammar, MD, Laith Altaweel, MD, Casey Stulce, MD

This workshop provides case-based discussion of pathophysiologic principles and clinical applications of invasive and minimally invasive hemodynamic monitoring modalities in critically ill patients with neurologic injuries.

Critical Care EEG - Advanced
Friday, October 14 | 1:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Directed by Ayham Alkhachroum, MD and Emily Gilmore, MD, MS
Faculty: Jan Claassen, MD, Sahar Zafar, MD, MSc, Patrick Coppler, PA, Julie Kromm, MD, FRPCP, Brandon Foreman, FNCS, MD

This workshop provides presentations and case-based discussion of advanced uses of EEG as a neuromonitoring tool in neurocritical care, including quantitative analysis and neuroprognostication. The workshop will provide a theoretical overview, interactive group discussion with audience participation. This workshop is designed for neurologists, neurointensivists, physician assistants, nurses, physicians in-training and other health professionals involved in the care of critically ill patients. Basic knowledge of EEG patterns is required to attend this advanced workshop. 

1. Recognize the current and future potential of EEG as a neuromonitoring tool in the ICU.
2. Identify the indications and duration of EEG monitoring. 
3. Distinguish basic EEG patterns in status epilepticus, ischemia monitoring, anoxic brain injury, and prognostication.
4. Recognize basic quantitative EEG patterns in clinical practice.
5. Discuss critical care EEG credentialing, billing, and career paths.

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) Cases
Tuesday, October 18 | 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Directed by Aarti Sarwal, MD
Faculty: Andrei V. Alexandrov, MD, RPNI, NVS, Ryan Hakimi, DO, MS, NVS, RPNI, CPB, FNCS, Kerri LaRovere, MD, Wendy Ziai, MD, MPH, Deepak Sarma, MD

This session is a virtual-only offering to cover 25-30 cases of neuro-ultrasound. The course will go through 4-6 cases per hour to teach interpretation for TCD. This session is only suitable for attendees with preexisting familiarity and knowledge of Transcranial Doppler principles, image acquisition and basic waveform interpretation. This course is NOT suitable for attendees seeking to acquire Neuro-ultrasound basics, they should sign up for the Basic TCD workshop. Cases covered in the session count towards American Society of Neuroimaging certification in Registered Physician in Neurovascular Interpretation for initial as well continuing certification. 

1. Illustrate review of Neuro-ultrasound images for waveform analysis.
2. Evaluate pathophysiological patterns in transcranial Doppler waveforms.
3. Learn to formulate differential diagnosis on patients cerebral hemodynamic state in relevance to underlying disease.
4. Illustrate clinical applications of Neuro-ultrasound and transcranial Doppler in critical care.

Virtual Master Classes

NCS Annual Meeting master class sessions can be purchased for an additional fee. The following two classes will take place virtually. All times are listed in CDT.

Advanced Practice Provider (APP)
Tuesday, October 18 | 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Directed by Ebony Green, APRN,RN and Ana Kukulj, NP
Faculty: Jenna Gonillo, NP, Bill Lombardi, DNP, RN, AGACNP-BC, CCRN, David Carpenter,MD Jennifer Mears, PA

This Masterclass will use a case study to discuss clinical challenges of subarachnoid hemorrhage management, the use of point of care ultrasound to guide management, and common ICU billing pitfalls. The interactive format will provide ample time for discussion.

1. The learner will be able to easily recognizes and calculate an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients’ neurological scales. I.e. Hunt and Hess and Modified Fischer Score.
2. The learner will be able to verbalize the need for point of care ultrasound in the care of an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patient.
3. The learner will be able to verbalize the use of standard medications and the goal of care regarding an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patient.
4. The learner will be able to estimate the length of hospitalization and need for recuperative care following critical care portion of an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patients intensive care stay.
5. The learner will describe the billing documentation needed to obtain optimal reimbursement from daily notes and critical care time when caring for an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage patient.

Pharmacy
Tuesday, October 18 | 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Directed by Jeffrey Mucksavage, PharmD, BCPS
Faculty: Natalie Tucker, PharmD, Sheri Tokumaru, PharmD, David Peters, PharmD, Devin Holden, PharmD

Expert faculty from across the country cover new, controversial, and evidence-based osmotherapy strategies for the neurocritically ill in a case-based and interactive learning environment.

1. Describe four aspects of the use of hypertonic sodium chloride solutions in neurocritical care patients.
2. Evaluate the literature that supports the use of hypertonic sodium chloride solutions.
3. Apply neurocritical care pharmacotherapy concepts to patient care scenarios.