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Adult Medical Emergency Handbook - Scottish Intensive Care Society

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AETIOLOGY OF COMA<br />

Primary neurological disease<br />

• Trauma<br />

• Intra-cranial haemorrhage: SAH, intra-cerebral, sub/extradural<br />

• Arterial/venous infarction<br />

• Infection: meningitis, encephalitis, cerebral abscess<br />

• Other structural: tumours<br />

• Epilepsy: postictal non-convulsive status epilepticus<br />

• Psychogenic<br />

Secondary to systemic disease<br />

• Toxic (drugs/alcohol) • Liver or renal failure<br />

• Hypoxia/hypercarbia • Wernicke’s encephalopathy<br />

Metabolic • Hypertensive encephalopathy<br />

• Hypoglycaemia<br />

• Hyperglycaemia<br />

• Hyponatraemia<br />

• Hypocalcaemia<br />

GLASGOW COMA SCALE<br />

Eye Opening Best verbal response Best motor response<br />

1 None 1 None 1 None<br />

2 To pain 2 Sounds only 2 Abnormal<br />

extension<br />

response to pain<br />

3 To voice 3 Incoherent Words 3 Abnormal flexion<br />

response to pain<br />

4 Spontaneous 4 Confused speech 4 Withdrawal from<br />

a painful stimulus<br />

5 Normal conversation 5 Localises a<br />

painful stimulus<br />

T = intubated patients 6 Normal<br />

Add up the score for each component of the scale, and report them<br />

separately.<br />

Localisation to pain is defined as reaching above the clavicle to a<br />

painful stimulus given above the neck.<br />

222 adult medical emergencies handbook | NHS LOTHIAN: UNIVERSITY HOSPITALS DIVISION | 2009/11

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