Imaging the Unconscious "Found Down" Patient in the Emergency Department

Carlos Torres; Nader Zakhari; Sean Symons; Thanh B Nguyen

doi:10.1016/j.nic.2018.03.006

Imaging the Unconscious "Found Down" Patient in the Emergency Department

Neuroimaging Clin N Am. 2018 Aug;28(3):435-451. doi: 10.1016/j.nic.2018.03.006. Epub 2018 Jun 8.

Authors

Carlos Torres¹, Nader Zakhari², Sean Symons³, Thanh B Nguyen²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiology, University of Ottawa, 1053 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1Y 4E9, Canada; Department of Medical Imaging, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic Campus, 1053 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1Y 4E9, Canada. Electronic address: catorres@toh.ca.
² Department of Radiology, University of Ottawa, The Ottawa Hospital, Civic and General Campus, 1053 Carling Avenue, Ottawa, ON K1Y 4E9, Canada.
³ Neuroradiology, Department of Medical Imaging, University of Toronto, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, ON M4N 3M5, Canada.

PMID: 30007754
DOI: 10.1016/j.nic.2018.03.006

Abstract

Unconsciousness may be due to severe brain damage or to potentially reversible causes. Noncontrast head computed tomography (CT) helps identify acute ischemic and hemorrhagic lesions as well as certain patterns of toxic encephalopathy. MR imaging plays an important role in the assessment of acutely encephalopathic patients who may show no significant abnormality on CT. This review describes some of the common and infrequent entities that can lead to unconsciousness, including epilepsy and vascular, traumatic, metabolic, and toxic disorders.

Keywords: Coma; Diffuse axonal injury; Emergency department; Encephalitis; Found down; Metabolic encephalopathy; Toxic encephalopathy; Unconscious.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Emergency Service, Hospital*
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Neuroimaging
Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Unconsciousness / diagnostic imaging*
Unconsciousness / etiology*