An unconscious patient

Extract

• An unconscious patient cannot communicate, is unarousable and does not obey commands.
• Unconsciousness is provoked by a bilateral hemispheric dysfunction or a disturbance of the reticular activating system at the brain stem.
• There are several causes of unconsciousness, many of which are life threatening (table 2). The diagnosis and treatment should therefore progress simultaneously.
• Immediate intervention will give extra time to discover the cause of unconsciousness and for the initiation of appropriate treatment.

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Adams-Stokes Syndrome, Alcoholic Intoxication, Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Cerebrospinal Fluid, Cheyne-Stokes Respiration, Coma, Consciousness Disorders, Epilepsy, Gastric Lavage, Glasgow coma scale, Internal medicine, MIDAS, Meningitis, Bacterial, Neurology, R40.0, R40.2, Unconsciousness, level of consciousness, unconscious patient