COMMON CAUSES OF REDUCED CONSCIOUSNESS AND COMA IN CHILDREN

• Metabolic
  • Hypo or hyperglycaemia
  • Hypo or hypernatraemia
  • Hypothermia
  • Hypothyroidism
  • Renal failure (uraemia)
  • Hepatic failure (hepatic encephalopathy)
  • Hypoxia
  • Hypercapnoea
  • Sepsis
  • Reye’s syndrome (post aspirin ingestion)
• Drugs
• Opioids
• Alcohol
• Anaesthetic drugs
• Benzodiazepines
• Seizures
• Raised intracranial pressure
• Intracranial haemorrhage (e.g. subarachnoid, subdural, extradural, intra-parenchymal)
• Space occupying lesions
• Traumatic brain injury (extradural haematoma, subdural haematoma, diffuse axonal injury, non-accidental injury)
• Blocked Intraventricular shunts
• Cerebrovascular Accident
• Hypertension
• Cerebrovascular malformations
• Thrombotic disorder (Sickle cell)
• Vasculitic disorder (Kawasaki’s disease)
• Cerebral hypoxia
• Post cardiac arrest
• Prolonged hypoxaemia or hypotension
• Hypoxic ischaemic injury (neonates)
• Intracranial infection
• Meningitis
• Encephalitis
• Intra-cerebral abscess