RECENT ADVANCES IN THE CARE OF THE COMATOSE PATIENT

Abstract

Article1 April 1942RECENT ADVANCES IN THE CARE OF THE COMATOSE PATIENTBARNETT A. GREENE, M.D.BARNETT A. GREENE, M.D.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-16-4-727 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptThe comatose patient, regardless of the cause of the coma, requires special therapeutic consideration. Coma does not merely indicate an advanced stage of the underlying disease but also complicates it because unconsciousness adds its own characteristic burdens to those of the primary disease. The coma which is of interest to us is that degree of unconsciousness in which the protective reflexes are decreased or absent. The severity of the physical changes which are the sequelae of coma is directly in proportion to the depth and duration of the coma. 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