NURSES’ KNOWLEDGE OF GLASGOW COMA SCALE IN NEUROLOGICAL ASSESSMENT OF PATIENTS IN A SELECTED TERTIARY HOSPITAL IN EDO STATE, NIGERIA

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy Ehwarieme ◽  
A. Anarado
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Herbert Ariaka ◽  
Joel Kiryabwire ◽  
Ssenyonjo Hussein ◽  
Alfred Ogwal ◽  
Emmanuel Nkonge ◽  
...  

Introduction. The prevalence rates of head injury have been shown to be as high as 25% among trauma patients with severe head injury contributing to about 31% of all trauma deaths. Triage utilizes numerical cutoff points along the scores continuum to predict the greatest number of people who would have a poor outcome, “severe” patients, when scoring below the threshold and a good outcome “non severe” patients, when scoring above the cutoff or numerical threshold. This study aimed to compare the predictive value of the Glasgow Coma Scale and the Kampala Trauma Score for mortality and length of hospital stay at a tertiary hospital in Uganda. Methods. A diagnostic prospective study was conducted from January 12, 2018 to March 16, 2018. We recruited patients with head injury admitted to the accidents and emergency department who met the inclusion criteria for the study. Data on patient’s demographic characteristics, mechanisms of injury, category of road use, and classification of injury according to the GCS and KTS at initial contact and at 24 hours were collected. The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis and logistic regression analysis were used for comparison. Results. The GCS predicted mortality and length of hospital stay with the GCS at admission with AUC of 0.9048 and 0.7972, respectively (KTS at admission time, AUC 0.8178 and 0.7243). The GCS predicted mortality and length of hospital stay with the GCS at 24 hours with AUC of 0.9567 and 0.8203, respectively (KTS at 24 hours, AUC 0.8531 and 0.7276). At admission, the GCS at a cutoff of 11 had a sensitivity of 83.23% and specificity of 82.61% while the KTS had 88.02% and 73.91%, respectively, at a cutoff of 13 for predicting mortality. At admission, the GCS at a cutoff of 13 had sensitivity of 70.48% and specificity of 66.67% while the KTS had 68.07% and 62.50%, respectively, at a cutoff of 14 for predicting length of hospital stay. Conclusion. Comparatively, the GCS performed better than the KTS in predicting mortality and length of hospital stay. The GCS was also more accurate at labelling the head injury patients who died as severely injured as opposed to the KTS that categorized most of them as moderately injured. In general, the two scores were sensitive at detection of mortality and length of hospital stay among the study population.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (27) ◽  
pp. 208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamza Al-Quraan ◽  
Mohannad Eid AbuRuz

The most important assessment of neurological examination in the clinical setting is assessing level of consciousness. The first neurological tool used to assess patients' level of consciousness was the Glasgow Coma Scale. It is considered as the most common less subjective gold standard coma assessment tool. The purpose of this study was to assess Jordanian nurses' knowledge about Glasgow Coma Scale. A non-experimental, descriptive cross-sectional correlational design was performed in four (3 private hospitals and 1 governmental) hospitals in Amman-Jordan. A self-reported questionnaire was answered by all (ICU, CCU, ER, and Telemetry) nurses who accepted to participate in the study. A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed to the participants with 90% response rate ending with 180 questionnaires in the final analysis. More than half of the sample (56.7%) was males. The participants were young nurses with mean age of 26.3±8 years. The total mean score for the whole sample was 7.38 ± 1.96. There was no relationship between experience, level of education, and training course and knowledge level. Nurses working in accredited hospitals and governmental hospitals recorded more level of knowledge than other hospitals. Emergency Room nurses recorded less level of knowledge than other area of practice. In conclusion, knowledge about Glasgow Coma Scale is a global problem. Jordanian nurses, as other nurses, have inadequate knowledge to perform Glasgow Coma Scale assessment. It is vital and necessary to include educational programs about Glasgow Coma Scale for nurses in all areas of practice and in the curricula of nursing colleges.


Author(s):  
Norbert Wodarz ◽  
Jörg Wolstein ◽  
Heike Wodarz-von Essen ◽  
Oliver Pogarell

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Die Abhängigkeit von Opioiden ist mit erheblichen gesundheitlichen Gefährdungen der Betroffenen und einer hohen Mortalität assoziiert. Derzeit werden insbesondere die dramatisch gestiegenen Mortalitätsraten in den USA diskutiert (‚opioid crisis‘), aber auch in Deutschland war in den letzten Jahren ein kontinuierlicher Anstieg der Drogentoten, überwiegend verursacht durch Opioide, zu verzeichnen. Die Risiken einer Opioid Überdosierung bzw. Intoxikation resultiert vor allem aus der hemmenden Wirkung der Opioide auf den Atemantrieb, die durch andere gleichzeitig konsumierte Substanzen noch verstärkt werden kann. Neben Erstmaßnahmen (Notruf, lebensrettende Basismaßnahmen der Ersten Hilfe) kommt auch der Einsatz des Opioidantagonisten Naloxon in Betracht. Methode: Literaturrecherche in PubMed, Cochrane Library und im International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) Register. Ergebnisse: Auch aus ethischen Gründen liegen bislang eher wenig systematische Untersuchungen zum nicht-ärztlichen Einsatz von Naloxon bei Opioidüberdosierung vor. Trotzdem kann nach aktuellem Stand geschlussfolgert werden, dass die intranasale Verabreichung vergleichbar wirksam mit einer intramuskulären Anwendung zu sein scheint. Bei Überdosierten, die nach erfolgreichem Naloxon-Einsatz aus unterschiedlichen Gründen nicht in einer Klinik gebracht wurden, wurden in ca. 1 %. Todesfälle dokumentiert. Falls 60 min nach Naloxongabe unauffällige Vitalparameter und auf der Glasgow Coma Scale mind. 15 Punkte erreicht werden, besteht wohl ein sehr niedriges Rebound-Risiko. Im Vergleich dazu ist das Auftreten von Naloxon-induzierten Entzugssyndromen deutlich häufiger, hängen jedoch von der Dosis und dem konsumierten Opioid ab, wie auch von der verabreichten Naloxon-Dosis. Schlussfolgerungen: Naloxon kann mittlerweile auch in Deutschland als zugelassenes Nasalspray verabreicht werden und ist daher im Prinzip auch für den Einsatz durch Ersthelfer geeignet. Verbesserte Rahmenbedingungen, wie z. B. spezifische Schulungen könnten dazu beitragen, Take-Home Naloxon als erfolgreichen Baustein zur Reduktion von Drogentod zu implementieren.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1044
Author(s):  
Cristina Daia ◽  
Cristian Scheau ◽  
Aura Spinu ◽  
Ioana Andone ◽  
Cristina Popescu ◽  
...  

Background: We aimed to assess the effects of modulated neuroprotection with intermittent administration in patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Methods: Retrospective analysis of 60 patients divided into two groups, with and without neuroprotective treatment with Actovegin, Cerebrolysin, pyritinol, L-phosphothreonine, L-glutamine, hydroxocobalamin, alpha-lipoic acid, carotene, DL-α-tocopherol, ascorbic acid, thiamine, pyridoxine, cyanocobalamin, Q 10 coenzyme, and L-carnitine alongside standard treatment. Main outcome measures: Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) after TBI, Extended Glasgow Coma Scale (GOS E), Disability Rankin Scale (DRS), Functional Independence Measurement (FIM), and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA), all assessed at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after TBI. Results: Patients receiving neuroprotective treatment recovered more rapidly from UWS than controls (p = 0.007) passing through a state of minimal consciousness and gradually progressing until the final evaluation (p = 0.000), towards a high cognitive level MOCA = 22 ± 6 points, upper moderate disability GOS-E = 6 ± 1, DRS = 6 ± 4, and an assisted gait, FIM =101 ± 25. The improvement in cognitive and physical functioning was strongly correlated with lower UWS duration (−0.8532) and higher GCS score (0.9803). Conclusion: Modulated long-term neuroprotection may be the therapeutic key for patients to overcome UWS after severe TBI.


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