Editing Coma (section)

==Treatment==

Treatment for people in a coma will depend on the severity and cause of the comatose state. Upon admittance to an emergency department, coma patients will usually be placed in an [[Intensive care unit|Intensive Care Unit]] (ICU) immediately,<ref name="Young 2009 32–47" /> where maintenance of the patient's respiration and circulation become a first priority. Stability of their respiration and circulation is sustained through the use of [[Tracheal intubation|intubation]], [[Bag valve mask|ventilation]], administration of [[Intravenous therapy|intravenous]] fluids or blood and other supportive care as needed.

=== Continued care ===
Once a patient is stable and no longer in immediate danger, there may be a shift of priority from stabilizing the patient to maintaining the state of their physical wellbeing. Moving patients every 2–3 hours by turning them side to side is crucial to avoiding [[Pressure ulcer|bed sores]] as a result of being confined to a bed. Moving patients through the use of [[physical therapy]] also aids in preventing [[atelectasis]], [[contracture]]s or other orthopedic deformities which would interfere with a coma patient's recovery.<ref name="sr" />

Pneumonia is also common in coma patients due to their inability to swallow which can then lead to [[Pulmonary aspiration|aspiration]]. A coma patient's lack of a gag reflex and use of a feeding tube can result in food, drink or other solid organic matter being lodged within their [[Respiratory tract|lower respiratory tract]] (from the trachea to the lungs). This trapping of matter in their lower respiratory tract can ultimately lead to infection, resulting in [[aspiration pneumonia]].<ref name="sr" />

Coma patients may also deal with restlessness or seizures. As such, soft cloth restraints may be used to prevent them from pulling on tubes or dressings and side rails on the bed should be kept up to prevent patients from falling.<ref name="sr">{{cite web|title=Coma|url=http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/PatientEd/Materials/PDFDocs/dis-cond/general/coma.pdf|access-date=2010-12-08|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100627165642/http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/PatientEd/Materials/PDFDocs/dis-cond/general/coma.pdf|archive-date=2010-06-27}}</ref>

=== Caregivers ===
Coma has a wide variety of emotional reactions from the family members of the affected patients, as well as the primary care givers taking care of the patients. Research has shown that the severity of injury causing coma was found to have no significant impact compared to how much time has passed since the injury occurred.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Qadeer |first1=Anam |last2=Khalid |first2=Usama |last3=Amin |first3=Mahwish |last4=Murtaza |first4=Sajeela |last5=Khaliq |first5=Muhammad F |last6=Shoaib |first6=Maria |title=Caregiver's Burden of the Patients With Traumatic Brain Injury |journal=Cureus |date=21 August 2017 |volume=9 |issue=8 |pages=e1590 |doi=10.7759/cureus.1590 |doi-access=free |pmc=5650257 |pmid=29062622 }}</ref> Common reactions, such as desperation, anger, frustration, and denial are possible. The focus of the patient care should be on creating an amicable relationship with the family members or dependents of a comatose patient as well as creating a rapport with the medical staff.<ref>{{cite web|title=Caring for Care Giver and Family|author=Coma Care|date=2010-03-30|access-date=2010-12-08|url=http://www.comacare.com/cgi-bin/giga.cgi}}{{dead link|date=March 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Although there is heavy importance of a primary care taker, secondary care takers can play a supporting role to temporarily relieve the primary care taker's burden of tasks.