risk of having seizures during the first week after their injury. They may be prescribed anti-seizure medication to avoid any additional brain damage that might be a secondary injury due to a seizure. Doctors sometimes use coma-inducing drugs to put patients into temporary comas. This is because a comatose brain needs less oxygen to function making it easier for the brain to return to normal functionality. This is especially helpful if blood vessels, compressed by increased pressure in the brain,
Alice. The nurse will check the patient’s pupils, this is done by shining a pen light into the patient’s eyes and checking how the pupils respond, and they should both be of equal size and respond to light. The next step it to complete another Glasgow Coma Scale so that the nurse can measure any changes to Alice’s consciousness. A pain assessment would them be completed on Alice to make sure that she is in no pain and if she is in pain the nurse may need to speak to a doctor regarding what medication
Evaluating the Limitations of Post-traumatic Amnesia as a Severity Scale Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) account to a third (30.5%) of all injury-related deaths in the U.S. with an estimated 1.7 million individuals sustaining TBI each year (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010). Classifications of brain injury (e.g., mild, moderate and severe) is mostly done using the Glasgow coma scale (GCS) which has gained broad acceptance for the assessment of the severity of brain damage (Bauer &
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke the etiology of mild traumatic brain injury are as follows; a. Falls. When individuals fall from the bed, staircase, and ladder or in the bathroom it may cause mild brain injury, especially in adults and young children. b Violence such as gunshot wounds, domestic violence, and other assault can cause mild traumatic brain injury. In addition, shaken baby syndrome is a traumatic brain injury in babies caused by violent shaking
Comatose, commonly referred to as a coma, is a state of the body the majority of the population is familiar with. However, the average citizen is not fully aware of the details of this convoluted state. Comatose only affects a small portion of the population, and there are several aspects pertaining to being in a comatose including the definition, diagnosis, and treatments. By definition a comatose is a deep state of unconsciousness in which the patient cannot be awakened, does not have sleep
Epidural hematomas are a severe complication of head injuries and are considered to be a medical emergency. Although they may not be seen as often as subdural hematomas, they are much more serious and require emergency surgery. If epidural hematomas are not picked up quickly, they can result in severe neurologic deficits and even worse, death. A major concern in a patient with an epidural hematoma is failure to rescue by healthcare professionals. Failure to rescue is when healthcare professionals
one specific patient following drug treatment was able to compute commands like lifting his hand or smiling or even counting to five, the Clauss researchers write, things he was unable to do previously. In addition the patients’ score on the Glasgow Coma Scale, a common rubric of responsiveness, improved temporarily, on average from 6 to 12 points for these patients (Clauss). So, why were these individuals affected by Ambien? How is it that it works on some patients, but not on others? Do we have
that received the intervention was collected on 28 adult patients treated from 2011 to 2013. Inclusion into the study required a systolic blood pressure above 80 mm HG, cardiac arrest time and recruitment time of less than four hours, initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) of < 8, and an age older than 18. Exclusion criteria included active bleeding, unconsciousness prior to the cardiac arrest, presence of any disease that diminished normal life expectancy, and an initial body temperature of less than 30°C
Mechanism There are many theories regarding the mechanism of concussion but the precise mechanism is still not clear-cut. It is known that concussion is a clinical syndrome of neurological impairment that results from traumatic biomechanical forces transmitted to the brain that can occur either directly to the brain or indirectly to the brain. (5) To further explain the term concussion, it is important to know that it is a change in brain function following a force to the head, which may be accompanied
unconscious for following the accident? • How long was the patient responsive for on scene before she then became unconscious again? • Did the patient state whether she was experiencing any pain after the accident? If so, what type? Where? Rated on a scale of 0-10? • Did the patient experience nausea or vomiting? • Did the patient experience any convulsions? • Did the patient experience decreased respirations? • Does the patient have a history of driving accidents? • Does the patient have a history of
and restricted blood flow that can lead to cognitive impairment. In more severe cases, the result is either a vegetative state or death. Two scales used to measure the severity of TBI are the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), which measures from 3 being comatose to 15 indicating minor trauma based on eye, verbal, and motor responses, and the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS), whose last number indicates severity from 1, which indicates minor injury, to 6, indicating certain death. Violence, car accidents, work
well with time management and delegation. With this being the neuro ICU, one must do more than just vital signs every hour. In this unit, you must also do a full neuro check every hour. This includes pupils, corneas, cough and gag reflexes, Glasgow coma scale, and movement to stimuli. The nurse also has things that must be implemented
Scottish Patient Safety Programme and the Early Detection of the Deteriorating Patient The aim of this reflection is to discuss patient safety in an acute setting according to the Scottish Patient Safety Programme. I will be using a model of reflection, Gibbs Reflective Cycle to structure my essay (Gibbs 1988 cited in Paterson and Chapman, 2013). In accordance with the Nursing and Midwifery Council identifiable information will not be written, maintaining confidentiality (NMC, 2010a). Description
Paramedics are frequently presented with neurological emergencies in the pre-hospital environment. Neurological emergencies include conditions such as, strokes, head or spinal injuries. To ensure the effective management of neurological emergencies an appropriate and timely neurological assessment is essential. Several factors are associated with the effectiveness and appropriateness of neurological assessments within the pre-hospital setting. Some examples include, variable clinical presentations
A 2-year-old child admitted with head injury and the doctor’s order was there to do the Glasgow coma scale hourly. Doctors and nurses explained everything to the mum and the importance of doing GCS. When time passed after midnight because of GCS the child couldn’t fall in to sleep and mum feeling distressed, then mum asked the nurse (diploma) who
I didn’t get his respiratory rate because he was moving. The nurse did pain assessment objectively because client was responding when asked to rate pain level. Client wasn’t showing any physical or facial signs of pain. According to LeMone, “Glasgow Coma Scale is used to assess behavior, including actions and affects, content and quality of speech, and level of consciousness.” (p. 1421) The nurse followed the Head Injury protocol of the facility and performed the head injury assessment on the client
Head trauma is a generalized group of injuries that are inflicted upon the brain by an amount of force from a collision, often by a car accident, or an intrusion of the skull and/or brain. The name ‘head trauma’ is often used as a blanket term for multiple types of brain injuries that can be detrimental to a human's development and current life, such as concussions, contusions, and multiple other force-related head injuries. Technology adapts in order to understand how the brain works under these
One of the greatest challenges with geriatric patients is maintaining homeostasis and managing pain during multisystem failure. With geriatric patients the body’s ability to regulate itself physiologically in response to changes due to illness is decreased, there by leading to multisystem failure. Elderly display shock with minimal signs and symptoms which leaves little time for intervention. The best treatment form multisystem failure is prevention. This can be obtained by collaborating with multidisciplinary
e probe its secrets, the more surprises we find.” With the brain being an organ of utmost importance and survival depending upon it, what happens when this valuable organ gets hurt? One of the most notorious brain injury documentations is the case of Phineas Gage. Gage was a railroad worker who was impaled by an iron rod, fracturing his skull and causing extensive frontal lobe damage. As documented by his physician, his personality drastically changed, going from a social and responsible man to negligent
Introduction BiPAP is a form of noninvasive mechanical ventilation used on patients that have acute respiratory failure. Many of these patients go on noninvasive ventilation due to COPD exacerbations that are infectious, with congestive heart failure, and ventilator parameters based on their clinical assessment and changes in arterial blood gases. Two different studies were conducted on COPD patients, using a BiPAP machine to improve exacerbations and their activities of daily living. There are