Sometimes people are put into a
A coma can result from complications of conditions such as diabetes or an infection, or from a traumatic incident involving a blow to the head or a lack of oxygen. Doctors sometime induce a coma to protect a person from pain and complications during the healing process.
Typically, a coma does not last more than a few days or couple of weeks. In some rare cases, a person might stay in a coma for several weeks, months or even years. Depending on what caused the person to go into a coma, some patients are able to return to their normal lives after leaving the hospital.
Studies show a very high overall mortality, ranging between 76% and 89%. 5, 6, 7 Of the surviving patients, only very few recover to a good outcome. The majority of the survivors do so with permanent disorders of consciousness or severe disabilities (see Table 1).
your critically ill loved one should come off the ventilator/ respirator and out of the induced coma relatively quickly within 12- 72 hours!
Severe brain injury is usually defined as being a condition where the patient has been in an unconscious state for 6 hours or more, or a post-traumatic amnesia of 24 hours or more. These patients are likely to be hospitalised and receive rehabilitation once the acute phase has passed.
Can Your Loved One Hear You? During a coma, the individual is unconscious, meaning they are unable to respond to any sounds. However, the brain may still be able to pick up on sounds from loved ones. In fact, some studies suggest talking and touching a loved one while they are in a coma may help them recover.
Sometimes life support is for people with serious brain injuries. It's commonly used in any of these levels of brain injury: Coma: In a coma, someone looks asleep, has no awareness or consciousness, and can't be woken up.
He says the goal of a medically induced coma is to reduce the work of brain cells and protect them from increased pressure inside the skull or after an event such as a stroke. Dr. JAMES BERNAT (Dartmouth Medical School): The medically induced coma is intended to reduce the metabolic demand of the brain cells.
Some examples of early responses to watch for are: Localized response: These are appropriate movements by the patient in response to sound, touch, or sight. Turning toward a sound, pulling away from something uncomfortable, or following movement with the eyes are examples.
In the short term, a person in a coma will normally be looked after in an intensive care unit (ICU). Treatment involves ensuring their condition is stable and their body functions, such as breathing and blood pressure, are supported while the underlying cause is treated.
Coma patients might feel pleasure and pain like the rest of us.
'Coma patients can be subdivided into several types,' said Dr Guger. 'People who are genuinely in a coma have no cognitive function and no motor responses – they cannot think and they cannot move. But some people may appear to be in a coma even though they are in fact conscious to some degree. '
Patients in a coma might have brain stem responses, spontaneous breathing and/or non-purposeful motor responses. Coma has three possible outcomes: progression to brain death, recovery of consciousness, or evolution to a state of chronically depressed consciousness, such as a vegetative state.
Physicians may not talk to comatose patients for several reasons. Comatose patients do not seem to hear or respond. Speaking may not affect their clinical outcome; time spent with them takes time away from other, more "viable" patients.
A person who is brain dead is dead, with no chance of revival. Coma: A state of profound unresponsiveness as a result of severe illness or brain injury. Patients in a coma do not open their eyes or speak, and they do not exhibit purposeful behaviors.
Nearly every coma patient who reaches the state of post-traumatic amnesia will make a functional recovery. In fact, patients who transition from a coma to a minimally conscious state within 8 weeks are most likely to transition to post-traumatic amnesia and regain higher functions.
And the answer is yes. The brain is incredibly resilient and possesses the ability to repair itself through the process of neuroplasticity. This phenomenon is the reason why many brain injury survivors can make astounding recoveries.
Post-traumatic amnesia typically occurs after a survivor wakes up from a coma, a period of unconsciousness. During this time the survivor may not be able to recall certain memories. This can last from a few minutes to a couple weeks, depending on the severity of the brain injury.
Being comatose is being in a coma, unconscious and unable to communicate, often for long periods of time. A bad illness or unexpected accident or injury — especially to the head — can make you comatose and trapped inside a body that isn't working.
Such a person exhibits a complete absence of wakefulness and is unable to consciously feel, speak, hear or move. Such a person is called brain dead but as the body system is functioning, the person is considered as living.
Providers might give breathing assistance, medicines through a vein and other supportive care. Treatment depends on the cause of the coma. A procedure or medicines to relieve pressure on the brain due to brain swelling might be needed. Emergency responders might give glucose or antibiotics through a vein in the arm.