What is stupor and coma?

What is stupor and coma?

INTRODUCTION. Stupor and coma are clinical states in which patients have impaired responsiveness (or are unresponsive) to external stimulation and are either difficult to arouse or are unarousable. Coma is defined as “unarousable unresponsiveness” [1]. An alert patient has a normal state of arousal.

What is an Obtunded patient?

Obtundation is a state similar to lethargy in which the patient has a lessened interest in the environment, slowed responses to stimulation, and tends to sleep more than normal with drowsiness in between sleep states.

Can you recover from stupor?

Prognosis of Stupor and Coma. In general, if people with impaired consciousness start to respond to sounds, touch, or other stimuli within 6 hours, they are more likely to recover. Recovery is also likely if one or more of the following occur within the first days: Speech returns, even if it is incomprehensible.

How do you treat a stupor?

How Are Stupors Treated? Because stupors are caused by another health condition, treatment focuses on uncovering and treating the cause. Doctors may administer IV antibiotics or fluids to treat infections and nutritional deficits, or conduct an MRI to check for lesions on the brain.

What does it mean when someone is unresponsive in the ER?

If someone can’t or won’t respond, we call them unresponsive. Depending on the context, a person’s unresponsiveness can be just a bummer or a life-threatening condition. Medically speaking, when a person is called unresponsive, it means they’re at least unconscious, and possibly dead or dying.

What does it mean when someone is unresponsive but breathing?

Medically speaking, when a person is called unresponsive, it means they’re at least unconscious, and possibly dead or dying. Beside above, what do you do if a person is unresponsive but breathing? If an adult is unresponsive and not breathing, you’ll need to do CPR (which is short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

What causes a person to be unresponsive for a long time?

Then, what would cause a person to be unresponsive? Common causes of temporary unconsciousness include: syncope, or the loss of consciousness due to lack of blood flow to the brain. neurologic syncope, or the loss of consciousness caused by a seizure, stroke, or transient ischemic attack (TIA) dehydration.

What happens when a person is in an unconscious state?

Unconsciousness is when a person is unable to respond to people and activities. Doctors often call this a coma or being in a comatose state. Other changes in awareness can occur without becoming unconscious. These are called altered mental status or changed mental status. They include sudden confusion, disorientation, or stupor.

What does the term unresponsive mean in medical terms?

The deepest, darkest level is usually described as being unresponsive, meaning nothing you do to the patient—smells, touch, noises, pain—will arouse them to any sort of response.

Then, what would cause a person to be unresponsive? Common causes of temporary unconsciousness include: syncope, or the loss of consciousness due to lack of blood flow to the brain. neurologic syncope, or the loss of consciousness caused by a seizure, stroke, or transient ischemic attack (TIA) dehydration.

Medically speaking, when a person is called unresponsive, it means they’re at least unconscious, and possibly dead or dying. Beside above, what do you do if a person is unresponsive but breathing? If an adult is unresponsive and not breathing, you’ll need to do CPR (which is short for cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

What causes a person to go into temporary unconsciousness?

Common causes of temporary unconsciousness include: syncope, or the loss of consciousness due to lack of blood flow to the brain. neurologic syncope, or the loss of consciousness caused by a seizure, stroke, or transient ischemic attack (TIA) dehydration. What is the difference between unconscious and unresponsive?