European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

ALTERED LEVEL OF CONSCIOUSNESS: AETIOLOGY AND SHORT- TIME OUTCOME IN A TERTIARY HOSPITAL OF BANGLADESH

Partha Sarathi Sarker* and Sudipa Dutta

ABSTRACT

Altered level of consciousness is a very common medical emergency resulting in considerable mortality and morbidity. Accurate diagnosis and prompt management can reduce the complications to a great extent. There are various aetiologies of impaired consciousness including infective and metabolic causes as well as cerebro-vascular accidents. This hospital based prospective observational study described different clinical outcomes of the patients relating to specific aetiologies of the illness. Hundred patients of altered level of consciousness admitted in a tertiary hospital of Bangladesh were evaluated clinically and with relevant investigations. Their clinical outcomes in the form of mortality or residual morbidity within one month were determined on the basis of clinical, radiological and biochemical features. The mean age of the study patients was found 48.7 years with range from 19 to 92 years. Majority (58.0%) of the patients were male. CVD or stroke was identified as the commonest (39.0%) aetiology of impaired consciousness followed by meningo-encephalitis (19.0%), septicaemia (10.0%) and poisoning (10.0%). Overall death rate was higher among structural and vascular lesions of brain (36%). Infective (mortality 10% in encephalitis and septicaemia), poisoning (mortality 10%) and metabolic (no mortality) causes of impaired consciousness showed better outcome than structural and vascular lesions of brain.

Keywords: altered level of consciousness, short-time outcome, stroke, meningo-encephalitis.