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What is the difference between stupor and coma?

What is the difference between stupor and coma?

Stupor means that only vigorous and repeated stimuli will arouse the individual, and when left undisturbed, the patient will immediately lapse back to the unresponsive state. Coma is a state of unarousable unresponsiveness. It is helpful to have a standard scale by which one can measure levels of consciousness.

What are the 5 levels of consciousness medical?

Altered Level of Consciousness (ALOC)

  • Confusion. Confusion describes disorientation that makes it difficult to reason, to provide a medical history, or to participate in the medical examination.
  • Delirium. Delirium is a term used to describe an acute confusional state.
  • Lethargy and Somnolence.
  • Obtundation.
  • Stupor.
  • Coma.

What’s the difference between comatose and obtunded?

People who are obtunded have a more depressed level of consciousness and cannot be fully aroused. Those who are not able to be aroused from a sleep-like state are said to be stuporous. Coma is the inability to make any purposeful response.

What does stupor mean in medical terms?

Stupor is unresponsiveness from which a person can be aroused only by vigorous, physical stimulation. Coma is unresponsiveness from which a person cannot be aroused and in which the person’s eyes remain closed, even when the person is stimulated.

What causes a stupor?

Stupor and coma are usually caused by a disorder, a drug, or an injury that affects large areas on both sides of the brain or specialized areas of the brain involved in maintaining consciousness. A physical examination, blood tests, brain imaging, and information from family and friends help doctors identify the cause.

What causes stupor?

What Causes Stupors? Stupors do not just occur on their own; they are caused by underlying medical issues or mental health conditions. Medical conditions that interfere with brain functioning, such as poisoning, brain tumors, brain infections, and severe vitamin deficiencies can induce a stupor.

What are the levels of coma?

Generally, comas are classified as: severe, with GCS ≤8, moderate, GCS 9–12, and minor, GCS ≥13. Forty years after its development, the GCS has become an integral part of clinical practice and research worldwide.

What is the difference between lethargic and somnolent?

As nouns the difference between somnolence and lethargy is that somnolence is a state of drowsiness or sleepiness while lethargy is (pathology) a condition characterized by extreme fatigue or drowsiness, or prolonged sleep patterns.

What is the difference between altered mental status and altered level of consciousness?

The terms, “Altered mental status” and “altered level of consciousness” (ALOC) are common acronyms, but are vague nondescript terms. The same can be said about terms such as lethargy or obtundation. Both represent some level of decreased consciousness but are more subjective descriptors than true objective findings.