title: [Complications in home treatment of patients with severe disturbances of consciousness].
abstract: We have been providing home treatment for patients with severe disturbance of consciousness requiring various medical treatments for about 10 years. In the 65 cases we have encountered, we studied complications during the course of the home treatment. The proportions of infections, decubiti and convulsions were found to be very high. With infections in particular, conditions worsened rapidly in many cases, so we made it a principle to have the patients hospitalized early. We also investigated changes in serum albumin levels, peripheral blood lymphocyte count and prognostic nutritional index (PNI). Patients who develop infections repeatedly and succumb to early death often show low values for PNI and lymphocyte count. The low values are considered useful as one indicator of the general conditions of patients under home treatment. For the management of patients with severe disturbances of consciousness, it is important to keep a close liaison with other departments or hospitals and strengthen home nursing sections.
authors.affiliation: Dept. of Neurosurgery, Ishinomaki Red Cross Hospital.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitahara
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kanno
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Katsumata
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Yaguchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003244:Consciousness Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000209:etiology*; D012640:Seizures / Q000209:etiology