Saturday, November 20, 2010

causes of coma, mnemonic

There are several medical causes of coma. One of the easiest ways to remember these causes is to use the mnemonic AEIOU TIPS:

* A - alcohol (overdose / withdraw / Wernicke's encephalopathy)
* E - epilepsy or exposure (heat stroke, hypothermia) or electrolytes
* I - insulin (diabetic emergency - high/low sugar)
* O - overdose or oxygen deficiency
* U - uremia (metabolic) or underdose
* T - trauma (head injury) or toxicology
* I - infection / inflammation
* P - psychosis or poisoning
* S - stroke / SAH / shock / syncope

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