- When it's necessary
- How it is done and how long it lasts
- Can the person in an induced coma listen?
- Possible risks of induced coma
The induced coma is a deep sedation that is done to help the recovery of a patient who is very serious, as can happen after a stroke, brain trauma, infarction or in lung diseases, such as severe pneumonia, for example.
This type of sedation is done by medications, such as those used in general anesthesia, and therefore, the person can wake up after hours or days, when the patient is recovering or the doctor finds it advisable. Thus, the induced coma is different from the coma caused by diseases, as it cannot be predicted and does not depend on the doctor's control.
Generally, the induced coma is performed in an ICU environment, as it is necessary to use devices that help to breathe, as well as a wide monitoring of all the vital data of the patient, in order to avoid complications, such as respiratory arrest, cardiac arrest or reaction to the effect of medicines, for example.
When it's necessary
Induced coma is a type of deep sleep caused by sedative drugs, it may be necessary when the patient has a very serious or delicate health condition, such as:
- Head trauma caused by accidents or falls. Check out what are the consequences of head trauma to the body; Epileptic crisis that does not improve with medications; Severe heart disease, due to heart attack, heart failure or arrhythmias, for example. Understand what can cause heart failure and how to treat it; Severe lung failure, caused by pneumonia, emphysema or cancer, for example; Severe neurological disease, such as a major stroke, meningitis or brain tumor. Find out how stroke treatment is done to avoid sequelae; After complicated surgery, such as brain, cardiac surgery or after a serious accident; Pain that does not improve with medications, such as major burns or advanced cancer.
In these cases, the coma is induced so that the brain and body are more likely to recover, since the body will save energy by not being active, and the person will not feel pain or discomfort because of the serious condition.
In cases of severe lung diseases, such as pneumonia, sedation will also facilitate collaboration with the respiratory system, allowing for better oxygenation of the organism that was impaired by the disease. Learn about treatments that help oxygenate the body in respiratory failure.
How it is done and how long it lasts
The induced coma is caused by sedative drugs such as Midazolam or Propofol, administered in controlled doses and injected into the vein, usually in the ICU, with an effect that can last for hours, days or weeks, until it is stopped due to the improvement of the patient's clinical condition. or so that the doctor can perform clinical evaluations.
The time to wake up also varies according to the metabolism of the medicine by the person's body. In addition, the patient's recovery depends on each case, therefore, if the person will survive or have sequelae, it will depend on the type of disease, the severity and the health conditions of the person, influenced by issues such as age, nutritional conditions, use medication and disease severity.
Can the person in an induced coma listen?
When in a deep coma, the person is not conscious and, therefore, does not feel, does not move and does not hear, for example. However, there are several levels of sedation, depending on the dose of the medication, so when the sedation is lighter it is possible to hear, move or interact, as if you were drowsy.
Possible risks of induced coma
As sedation is performed by anesthetic drugs, similar to what is used in general anesthesia, and some complications can happen, such as:
- Allergy to the active ingredient of the medication; Reduced heart rate; Respiratory arrest.
These complications are avoided with continuous monitoring of the patient's vital data and constant evaluation by the ICU physician and nursing staff. In addition, the health of a patient in need of induced coma is usually severe, and the risk of sedation is less than the risk of the disease itself.
Learn more about how general anesthesia works and what the risks are.
