Acute Coma

An acutely comatose patient constitutes a medical emergency until proved otherwise. Managing these emergencies requires organized teamwork to recognize and treat life-threatening situations and reversible causes of coma. Once vital functions have been stabilized, information from the history and physical examination should be used to rationally guide subsequent testing. Identifying causes of coma for which emergency treatment is possible should be the priority. The treatment and prognosis depend on the cause.
Source: Neurologic Clinics - Category: Neurology Authors: Source Type: research