Because coma has many causes, physicians must develop a structured, algorithmic
approach to diagnose and treat reversible causes rapidly. The three main mechanisms of …

Glasgow coma scale, FOUR also tests for eye tracking of a moving object. Most commonly,
this is the first sign heralding the transition from a vegetative to a minimally conscious state …

A clinical scale has been evolved for assessing the depth and duration of impaired
consciousness and coma. Three aspects of behaviour are independently measured—motor …

Discusses how the review of the history taking and examination in the assessment of
patients with stroke, especially in the first few hours after onset, show why clinical …

Among 821 consecutive patients admitted to an acute stroke unit, the initial diagnosis of
stroke proved incorrect in 108 (13%). The commonest causes of misdiagnosis were …

The vegetative state and the minimally conscious state are disorders of consciousness that
can be acute and reversible or chronic and irreversible. Diffuse lesions of the thalami …

Patients with severe brain damage due to trauma or ischæmia may now survive indefinitely.
Some never regain recognisable mental function, but recover from sleep-like coma in that …

Features of patients transferred to a regional neurosurgical unit in coma after recent head
injury were compared with a similar audit seven years previously. There were fewer …

Discusses complications of acute stroke that may jeopardize recovery. Transtentorial
herniation and cerebral oedema; Percentage of stroke patients who become depressed and …

More patients are surviving cardiac arrest than ever before; however, the burden now lies
with estimating neurological prognoses in a large number of patients who were initially …