The Bedside Diagnosis of Coma

Chapter 20 The Bedside Diagnosis of Coma





Generalities



















17 What is the neurologic exam of a comatose patient?


A simple one. Since the cortex of coma is, by definition, dysfunctional, exam is only aimed at assessing brain stem function. This is carried out in a rostral-caudal and level-by-level fashion. If all four layers of the brain stem are working properly, then the coma is cortical (i.e., one in which the cortex is primarily dysfunctional). If one or more brain stem layer is damaged, then the coma is a brain stem coma (i.e., one in which the cortex is secondarily dysfunctional as a result of direct brain stem damage) (see Table 20-1).


Table 20-1 Clinical Assessment of Coma



























































General Examination
image Skin (e.g., rash, anemia, cyanosis, jaundice)
image Temperature (fever-infection, hypothermia-drugs, circulatory failure)
image Blood pressure (e.g., septicemia, Addison’s disease)
image Breath (e.g., fetor hepaticus)
image Cardiovascular (e.g., arrhythmias)
image Abdomen (e.g., organomegaly)
Neurologic Examination
image Head, neck, and eardrum (trauma)
image Meningism (subarachnoid hemorrhage, meningitis)
image Funduscopy
Level of Consciousness
image Glasgow Coma Scale (verbal response, eye opening, motor response)
Brain Stem Function
image Pupillary responses
image Spontaneous eye movements
image Oculocephalic responses
image Caloric responses
image Corneal responses
Motor Function
image Motor response
image Deep tendon reflexes
image Muscle tone
image Plantars
Respiratory Pattern
image Cheyne-Stokes: hemisphere
image Central neurogenic hyperventilation: rapid/midbrain
image Apneustic: rapid with pauses/lower pontine

(Adapted from Bateman DE. Neurological assessment of coma. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 71[Suppl 1]: i13–i17, 2001.)




19 What is the first step in evaluating coma?


To assess whether there is any response to verbal stimuli. This can be done by asking patients to open their eyes and look up, down, and from side to side. “Locked-in” patients (see question 54) will open their eyes on command, and even look up and down, but will be unable to make any other purposeful response. Once this is done, the next step in the evaluation of coma is to test the first and uppermost brain stem level: the thalamus.





22 What are these postures?


Valuable findings for localization. A decorticate posture is a sign of subcortical/thalamic dysfunction. It consists of upper extremities’ flexion, with extension and internal rotation of lower extremities. A decerebrate posture consists instead of extension and internal rotation of both upper and lower extremities. This is a sign of upper brain stem dysfunction, usually the consequence of midbrain or upper pontine lesions. Finally, lower brain stem damage (low pontine and medullary) will cause no response to painful stimuli, or just extension of the upper extremities with simple bending of the knees (a spinal reflex). Unilateral decerebrate or decorticate responses also may occur, usually indicating unilateral lesions. Overall, it is easy to separate decortication from decerebration by remembering that in de-cor-tication the hand points toward the heart (cor), whereas in decerebration the hand points away from the heart (see Fig. 20-2).


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Apr 2, 2017 | Posted by in GENERAL SURGERY | Comments Off on The Bedside Diagnosis of Coma

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