Harvard Neurological Emergencies 2025

Neurological Emergencies  Evaluation. Diagnosis. Management. Live Streaming • October 22 – 24, 2025

Neurological Emergencies is an online course, using live streaming, electronic Q&A, and other remote learning technologies.
OVERVIEW
This special program provides new strategies, updates, best practices, and practical tips for:

The WORKUP of common neurological complaints and high-risk conditions
RAPID DETECTION of a neurological emergency and EARLY ACTIONS to optimize patient outcomes in emergency department, outpatient, and inpatient settings
STATE-OF-THE-ART DIAGNOSIS and MANAGEMENT of HIGH-RISK NEUROLOGICAL CONDITIONS:

Ischemic stroke
TIA
Carotid stenosis
Intracerebral hemorrhage
Traumatic brain injury
Cerebral aneurysm
Spinal cord compression
Cauda equina syndrome
Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome
Cerebral venous sinus thrombosis
Seizures
Coma

2025 COURSE HIGHLIGHTS

EVALUATION, DETECTION, EARLY ACTION

Best practices for the workup of common neurological complaints: Headache, Back Pain, Dizziness, Weakness, and Altered Mental Status
Optimized approaches to the history and the physical exam
An algorithmic approach to evaluating headaches (what causes you “cannot miss,” what tests to do and when to image in order to find them)
A practical algorithmic approach to back pain; how to spot the history and examination “red flags” for spinal cord and cauda equina compression. Learn when to image, and what to look for!
Acute weakness—the evidence-based initial evaluation for uncommon but serious causes
The modern evidence-based evaluation of dizziness (spoiler alert—physical exam beats imaging!)
Video clips from actual patients that help you see, “firsthand,” hard-to-describe physical exam findings
How to do a “meaningful neurologic exam” on a patient when numerous other patients are waiting to be seen: what to do and how to prioritize
The best workup for subarachnoid hemorrhage: have “reports of the death of the lumbar puncture been greatly exaggerated”?
The best inpatient workup for stroke, including how to treat it and what testing needs to be done urgently
Best current evaluation of altered mental status and coma
How to determine when a coma patient is not recoverable or brain dead
Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS): more common than you think!
Early actions for patients with severe TBI

DIAGNOSIS

Optimize the physical exam:

How to quickly and accurately diagnose dizziness at the bedside
What is the significance of a Babinski sign in patients with back pain?
What findings in a headache patient suggest a specific diagnosis?

Optimize how you order imaging:

When to use CT/CTA/CTP, including what to order and how to interpret results
When to use MRI, including what to order, when to order, and when NOT to order
How do I know which headache patients need neuroimaging, and which test should I order? Which blood tests can help and when to order them?

How to tell if it is a stroke mimic, and if you’re not sure, how to proceed with treatment
Functional neurologic disorders—how to distinguish, how to manage, and how to most effectively communicate to patients
Back pain: when to order imaging, what to order, and how to interpret results
When and how to use point-of-care ultrasound to diagnose or treat neurologic complaints

MANAGEMENT of HIGH-RISK NEUROLOGICAL CONDITIONS

Updates for acute management of spinal cord and cauda equina compression
Advances in the management of seizures
State-of-the-art management of cerebral aneurysms and SAH
Updates in ED and ICU management of TBI
Management of head injuries
How to approach pregnant and post-partum women with acute neurological symptoms
Management of complex headache patients
Management of coma and delirium
Updates in anticoagulation reversal for ICH and TBI
Endovascular stroke treatment: updates, criteria to determine which patients are candidates for it, when to call the interventionalist
What to do with patients who might have had a TIA (and when to do it)
Thrombolytics in stroke: updates and criteria to determine who should (and should not) receive this treatment
What to do when you find a cerebral aneurysm: determining which patients get surgery and who needs follow-up
Evidence of cauda equina or spinal cord injury: what to do; information needed by spine surgeons; when to call them and criteria to determine who needs surgery
Updates for intracerebral hemorrhage patients and whether they need blood pressure treatment, anticoagulation reversal, or neurosurgery
Acute seizures: treatment updates; how to tell if they are nonepileptic seizures; how to manage them in the inpatient (and outpatient) setting; how to choose among all the antiepileptic drugs
Treating patients with a carotid or vertebral artery dissection
Patients with minor head injury and concussion: what they need acutely, and what they need in follow-up
How to use up-to-date evidence to quickly and accurately diagnose dizziness at the bedside
What to do with patients if you think they have a functional neurologic disorder
What to do when a patient’s underlying neurologic disorder seems to be getting acutely worse
What to think about and what to do with patients with acute visual loss

STATE-OF-THE-ART STROKE MANAGEMENT

Modern stroke management: optimizing IV thrombolytics and endovascular therapy using advanced imaging rather than just the clock
New criteria to identify stroke patients for endovascular therapy
Updates in anticoagulation reversal for ICH and TBI
Treating stroke up to 24 hours after onset
Treating TIA and intracerebral hemorrhage
Updates in ischemic stroke, arterial dissections, and reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome
The right tests to order for potential stroke: when to order CTA, CTP, MRI, MRA, and what is the difference between them?
Determining if it is a stroke or stroke mimic
How to avoid missing posterior circulation strokes

CARE OF ELDERLY PATIENTS

How to ensure the best care for elderly patients who have fallen
Elderly patients with syncope, delirium, or altered mental status: special considerations for care
Elderly patients with new headache: is it giant cell arteritis?
How to determine which patients need further workup for a cause of a fall and which need testing for acute injuries
Gait disturbance in the elderly

RISK MITIGATION

Avoiding misdiagnosis
Mitigating liability
Medical errors: how to avoid them
Guidance to address medical errors when they happen
We all make mistakes—hear how the course directors process their own!

UNIQUE TO THIS PROGRAM

Every year there is a vast amount of practice-changing literature on diagnosis and treatment of patients with neurological emergencies. This program provides important updates including current approaches to the history, the physical, and early management.
As a new or returning participant, you can rely on this program to ensure you are up to date with the latest information and prepared to:

Better evaluate high-frequency neurological symptoms and high-risk neurological conditions
Avoid misdiagnosis
Quickly identify a neurological emergency and act in the first hours to optimize patient outcomes in the emergency, inpatient, and outpatient settings
Optimize your use of diagnostics
Incorporate updates in practice to ensure state-of-the-art management of high-risk neurological conditions

The faculty is assembled from the best clinician-educators at Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), and other leading medical centers.
The program is designed to deliver the highest-quality educational experience:

Teaching practical, effective clinical reasoning and approaches that enable you to deliver state-of-the-art care
Presenting video clips from actual patients that help participants see, “firsthand,” hard-to-describe physical exam findings
Allowing time for participants to interact with faculty and to pose and get answers to your specific questions
Providing the latest information in an engaging manner and clinically usable context so that you have knowledge that you can “take home” and immediately apply to patient care

For PHYSICIANS, NPs, PAs

PHYSICIANS, NPs, and PAs can customize their learning experience, choosing among breakout sessions designed to be of interest to the following specialties and practice settings:

Emergency Medicine
Neurology (Inpatient and Outpatient)
Hospital Medicine
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Critical Care
Internal Medicine
Family Medicine
Urgent Care

+ Topics:

Wednesday, October 22, 2025

7:50am to 8:00am Welcome and Introduction Jonathan A. Edlow, MD, FACEP and Joshua N. Goldstein, MD, PhD
8:00am to 9:00am Keynote Presentation: Cerebral Aneurysms: 2025 Update Christopher S. Ogilvy, MD

9:00am to 9:15am Q&A
9:15am to 10:00am Neuroimaging 101 William A. Copen, MD
10:00am to 10:15am Q&A
10:15am to 10:45am Back Pain 2025: Red Flags and Beyond Jonathan A. Edlow, MD, FACEP
10:45am to 11:00am Q&A
11:00am to 11:15am Break
11:15am to 11:45am Neuroimaging of the Spine: What to Order and How to Read William A. Copen, MD
11:45am to 12:00pm Q&A
12:00pm to 12:30pm Updates in Urgent Management of Spinal Cord and Cauda Equina Disorders Ganesh Shankar, MD, PhD
12:30pm to 12:45pm Q&A
12:45pm to 1:45pm Break
1:45pm to 2:30pm Your Choice of Concurrent Breakouts Each session includes a 30-minute lecture followed by 15 minutes of live Q&A.

A Neuroimaging in Stroke William A. Copen, MD
B Altered Mental Status: Case Studies Maura Kennedy, MD and Eyal Y. Kimchi, MD, PhD
2:30pm to 3:15pm Your Choice of Concurrent Breakouts Each session includes a 30-minute lecture followed by 15 minutes of live Q&A.
A Acute Pregnancy-Related Neurological Disorders Andrea G. Edlow, MD, MSc

B Gait Disturbance and Falls Shan W. Liu, MD, SD
3:15pm to 4:00pm Your Choice of Concurrent Breakouts Each session includes a 30-minute lecture followed by 15 minutes of live Q&A.
A Intracerebral Hemorrhage Joshua N. Goldstein, MD, PhD
B Recognizing and Managing Complications of Parkinson’s Disease Ludy Shih, MD, MMSc
4:00pm to 4:15pm Break
4:15pm to 4:45pm Functional Neurological Disorders: How to Diagnose and How to Treat Sara Finkelstein, MD, MSc
4:45pm to 5:00pm Q&A

Thursday, October 23, 2025

8:00am to 8:45am Keynote Presentation: State of the Art in Endovascular Therapy Thanh Nguyen, MD
8:45am to 9:00am Q&A
9:00am to 9:30am Acute Stroke 2025: IV Thrombolytics Joshua N. Goldstein, MD, PhD
9:30am to 9:45am Q&A
9:45am to 10:15am TIA in 2025: What to Do and When to Do It Matthew S. Siket, MD, MSc, FACEP
10:15am to 10:30am Q&A
10:30am to 10:45am Break
10:45am to 11:15am Diagnosing Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Whom to Image? Whom to LP? Nicole Dubosh, MD
11:15am to 11:30am Q&A
11:30am to 12:00pm SAH Management Nicole Dubosh, MD
12:00pm to 12:15pm Q&A
12:15pm to 1:15pm Break
1:15pm to 2:00pm Your Choice of Concurrent Breakouts Each session includes a 30-minute lecture followed by 15 minutes of live Q&A.
A Acute Visual Loss Marc A. Bouffard, MD
B Stroke Management: Beyond Revascularization Sandeep Kumar, MD
2:00pm to 2:45pm Your Choice of Concurrent Breakouts Each session includes a 30-minute lecture followed by 15 minutes of live Q&A.
A Seizures and Epilepsy: Updates in Treatment Evie Marcolini, MD, FACEP, FCCM
B Carotid Stenosis: When to Intervene and How Sandeep Kumar, MD
2:45pm to 3:30pm Your Choice of Concurrent Breakouts Each session includes a 30-minute lecture followed by 15 minutes of live Q&A.
A Meningitis and Encephalitis Evie Marcolini, MD, FACEP, FCCM
B Managing Difficult Headaches Rebecca C. Burch, MD
3:30pm to 3:45pm Break
3:45pm to 4:45pm Headache Causes You Cannot Miss: Red Flags and How to Use Them Jonathan A. Edlow, MD, FACEP
4:45pm to 5:00pm Q&A

Friday, October 24, 2025

8:00am to 9:00am Keynote Presentation: Neuroprognostication After Cardiac Arrest, and Brain Death David Greer, MD
9:00am to 9:15am Q&A Ali Daneshmand, MD, MPH
9:15am to 10:00am Dizziness 2025: The Evidence-Based Approach—with Video Evaluations of Real Patients Jonathan A. Edlow, MD, FACEP
10:00am to 10:15am Q&A

10:15am to 10:30am Break

10:30am to 11:15am Diagnosing and Treating BPPV: Have More Fun in Your Practice! Jonathan A. Edlow, MD, FACEP

11:15am to 11:30am Q&A

11:30am to 12:00pm Concussions Rebekah Mannix, MD, MPH
12:00pm to 12:15pm Q&A

12:15pm to 1:15pm Break

1:15pm to 2:00pm Your Choice of Concurrent Breakouts Each session includes a 30-minute lecture followed by 15 minutes of live Q&A.
A Acute Generalized Weakness Jonathan A. Edlow, MD, FACEP
B Arterial Dissections MingMing Ning, MD, MMSc
2:00pm to 2:45pm Your Choice of Concurrent Breakouts Each session includes a 30-minute lecture followed by 15 minutes of live Q&A.
A POCUS on the Brain: Point-of-Care Ultrasound for Neurologic Evaluation Onyinyechi Eke, MD
B Cerebral Venous Thrombosis: Updates and New 2025 Guidelines Aneesh Singhal, MD
2:45pm to 3:30pm Your Choice of Concurrent Breakouts Each session includes a 30-minute lecture followed by 15 minutes of live Q&A.
A Traumatic Brain Injury Brian L. Edlow, MD
B Reversible Cerebral Vasoconstriction Syndrome: How to Diagnose and Treat This Underdiagnosed Cause of Acute Severe Headache Aneesh Singhal, MD
3:30pm to 3:45pm Break
3:45pm to 4:30pm The Psychology of Diagnostic Errors: A Clinician’s Perspective Jonathan A. Edlow, MD, FACEP
4:30pm to 4:45pm Q&A
4:45pm to 5:00pm Course Wrap-Up, Q&A Jonathan A. Edlow, MD, FACEP and Joshua N. Goldstein, MD, PhD