lethargic vs somnolent vs obtunded

Obtunded: similar to lethargy; the patient has a lessened interest in the environment, has slowed responses to stimulation, and tends to sleep more than . Plus, get practice tests, quizzes, and personalized coaching to help you Levels of consciousness can be subdivided into levels that further clarify your degree of unresponsiveness. Stupor is a state from which someone can only be aroused, only briefly, by extreme stimulation, such as shaking or pinching. a person may be obtunded due to head trauma. Lehman RK, Mink J. Altered mental status. Psychology Press: New York. Abnormal Peripheral Pulses: Assessment & Location | What Is Peripheral Pulse? KA declares that he has no competing interests. A physical examination, including a body temperature reading, is conducted first to determine possible causes. 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. (Eds), Handbook of Metamemory and Memory. (informal) Fast asleep. Normal state of consciousness consists of either the state of attentiveness in which most people function while not asleep, or one of the recognized stages of normal sleep from which the person can be easily aroused. Several systems have been developed to standardize these classifications. I think everyone has slightly different ideas on what those descriptors mean. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27475019?tool=bestpractice.com While I would agree with you, it's probably better to stick to more objective stuff, like GCS as Gwenith suggests. The information, including but not limited to, audio, video, text, and graphics contained on this website are for educational purposes only. Obtunded, you are very difficult to arouse, but when you do arouse you talk clearly (even if only for 10 secs) and then you're out again. exposure to poisons or intoxicants), insufficient oxygen or blood flow in the brain, and excessive pressure within the skull. (caused by narcotics, intoxicants, etc. Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related. An obtunded patient might be suffering from toxins or a drug overdose, severe diseases such as renal or liver failure, stroke, infection, or swelling of the brain. If you or someone you know has an altered state of consciousness, it's important to get medical help. However, more frequently patients exhibit altered levels of consciousness plus cognition: for example, with delirium, a relatively common and sometimes fatal cause of AMS. Comatose: state of deep, unarousable, sustained unconsciousness. No content on this website is intended to guide nursing practice and does not supersede any individual healthcare providers scope of practice or any nursing school curriculum. Lethargy noun. Altered mental status (AMS) is a general term used to describe various disorders of mental functioning ranging from slight confusion to coma. obtunded: mentally dulled. Specializes in ICU, Education. The cost of ICU delirium and coma in the intensive care unit patient. The National Institute of Health classifies obtundation as similar to lethargy and describes an obtunded patient as having lessened interest in the environment and slower responses to stimulations. BMJ. from the latin obtundere, to blunt. Comatose adjective. Confusional state is a more profound deficit that includes disorientation, bewilderment, and difficulty following commands. If you did nothing, they would be doing nothing. Altered or abnormal levels of consciousness are states in which you either have decreased cognitive function or can't be easily aroused. - Definition, Symptoms & Treatment, Space-Occupying Lesions: Causes & Symptoms. Etiologies and delirium rates of elderly ED patients with acutely altered mental status: a multicenter prospective study. In this group, infection and neurologic disease were the most common etiologies. Altered level of consciousness. Enjoy! Its a way of life. Somnolencenoun Sleepiness; drowsiness; inclination to sleep. By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25215076?tool=bestpractice.com, Another observational study reported that over half of adults ages over 65 years with AMS had delirium. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. More serious than lethargy is obtundation, a moderate reduction in alertness. We will try to find the right answer to this particular crossword clue. a very sleepy state; sleepiness causes many driving accidents. A lethargic patient will be sleepy but easy to arouse with verbal commands or light touch. If you did nothing, they would be doing nothing. Their pupils may not react to light, and they may not have a gag reflex. 2023 Dotdash Media, Inc. All rights reserved, Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. I.V. ____________________________________________________________. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27765479?tool=bestpractice.com. Semi comatose An imprecise term for a state of drowsiness and inaction, in which more than ordinary stimulation may be required to evoke a response, and the response may be delayed or incomplete. (medicine) Far from alert or oriented to time and space, and exhibiting other signs of being confused, a state just short of frank delirium. An altered LOC usually signals a serious medical problem. In fact, level of consciousness is THE most basic and sensitive indicator of altered brain function. Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License; (medicine) Describing someone who is far from alert or oriented to time and space, and exhibits other signs being confused, a state just short of frank delirium. 2016 Aug;34(3):649-65. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27475019?tool=bestpractice.com. It has come into almost universal use for assessing people with brain injury,[2] or an altered level of consciousness. Obtunded verb. Aslaner MA, Boz M, elik A, et al. If you're in a stupor, you respond minimally to vigorous stimulation, such as a pinched toe or light in the eyes. What is the difference between stuporous and Obtunded? Our members represent more than 60 professional nursing specialties. Confused: disoriented; bewildered, and having difficulty following commands. She was lying comatose on the sofa. [5] Thus it is a valuable measure of a patient's medical and neurological status. He served 12 years as senior editor for Intercounty Newspaper Group and oversaw editorial operations for three of its weekly newspapers. Syncope is a brief loss of consciousness that means the same as fainting or passing out. adjective. Obtunded adjective (medicine) Far from alert or oriented to time and space, and exhibiting other signs of being confused, a state just short of frank delirium. She writes middle grade and young adult fiction, and has experience with professional blog content from GILI Sports. 1 Article; A concussion, which is a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) may result in decreased LOC. At the time of your initial assessment at 0800, you note that the patient opens her eyes spontaneously and responds to questions though not all her answers make sense. They will awaken for a brief moment and then quickly fall back into a sedated and decreased level of consciousness. *Patients who are able to spontaneously state their name, location, and date or time correctly are considered oriented X 3. Any time that you really need to physically stimulate a patient to get any type of response from them, that is obtunded. Somnolent adjective. The most commonly used are lethargic, obtunded, delirium, stupor, and comatose. Explore the meanings of stupor and obtunded. Lethargic adjective. As an ICU nurse myself if that was my patient I would chart him as being semicomatose. 2007 Apr 21;334(7598):842-6. to obtund is to dull or blunt. TC has worked as a paid speaker for GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer in 2008 and 2009. lethargic. Coma is a state of unarousable unresponsiveness. 2,212 Posts. Sometimes impaired consciousness is reversible, while other times it is not. (Lethargy is just mildl diffiuclty to arouse, like really drowsy). When in a stupor, an unresponsive patient will only awaken to deep physical stimuli before falling back asleep. Its like a teacher waved a magic wand and did the work for me. Stupor Stupor is a state from which someone can only be aroused, only briefly, by extreme stimulation, such as shaking or pinching. University of Massachusetts Medical School. Obtundation is a state similar to lethargy in which the patient has a lessened interest in the environment, slowed responses to stimulation, and tends to sleep more than normal with drowsiness in between sleep states. It's a state of mind that causes disorientation, bewilderment, poor decision-making and difficulty following commands. Lethargic in my mind describes someone who is drowsy but arousable. LOC is an abbreviation describing patient awareness, alertness, and wakefulness. A lowered level of consciousness indicate a deficit in brain function. Delirium in older people. Dunlosky, J. Pat McCaw MD is a family physician and author. When charting, I avoided the whole word descriptor altogether and stuck with more objective information. [6]Lehman RK, Mink J. Altered mental status. Often, an altered LOC can deteriorate rapidly from one stage to the next. Opara JA, Maecka E, Szczygiel J. Clinimetric measurement in traumatic brain injuries. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17446616?tool=bestpractice.com [4] A decreased level of consciousness correlates to increased morbidity (sickness) and mortality (death). *Obtunded patients have decreased interest in their surroundings, very slow responses, and excessive sleepiness. Given the vagueness of the term, it is imperative to understand its key components before considering a differential diagnosis. As for the new definition by the word obtuned. Comas are caused by severely diminished brain function. As the CO2 rises, the patient becomes more and more comatoseusually we can pull the patient out of it with BIPAP, but in extreme cases they may be intubated. Additionally, no content on this website is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. A patient that is. 'He had no eye for such phenomena, because he had a somnolent want of interest in them.'; ADVERTISEMENT She subsequently received her MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University in 2016. As adjectives the difference between lethargic and obtunded is that lethargic is sluggish, slow while obtunded is describing someone who is far from alert or oriented to time and space, and exhibits other signs being confused, a state just short of frank delirium. awake, watching TV, and able to state their name, location, and the time accurately is considered awake, alert and oriented X 3 (AAO X 3). With a patient like this, you might anticipate the MD ordering an ABG at some pointdont be surprised if it comes back acidotic. Stupor, coma and persistent vegetative state can be caused by everything from a really traumatic accident to drug abuse and much more. Knowing the level of brain function at the presentation of a patient to an emergency setting can determine treatment options and overall prognosis. This is usually due to: The causes of these altered LOC may overlap. They range from confusion to coma, each with its own definition. Somnolent: sleepy, responding to stimuli only with incoherent mumbles or disorganized movements. [4]Aslaner MA, Boz M, elik A, et al. I think being in an obtuned state it is more likely similar to being in a state of drowsiness. Obtunded adjective. Xiao HY, Wang YX, Xu TD, et al. Comatose adjective. Confusion is one symptom that is encompassed by delirium, which is a sudden condition that is characterized by cycles of hyper-alertness and then confusion and sluggishness.

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