Medical Basics

Glasgow Coma Scale

Whilst your loved one is in Intensive Care you may hear medical staff refer to the ‘Glasgow Coma Scale’. This is a tool used to evaluate the degree to which a person is in a conscious or comatose state. It operates on a scale of 3 to 15 in which the higher the score the higher the level of consciousness

wikipedia -Glasgow Coma Scale

Medication

Medication is something that is so important in the early days and in continuing care. So many different drugs are used to keep your loved ones stable. Different drugs have benefits and differing side affects.

www.patient.co.uk

Sympathetic Storming after severe Brain Injury

'Storming' maybe another medical term that you hear whilst in Intensive Care or on a hospital ward. This is a common complication following a brain injury. Symptons include increased body temperature, increased heart rate and profuse perspiration.

Sympathetic Storms fact sheet

Tracheostomy

This is an opening in the front of the windpipe to help with breathing or the removal of unwanted fluids on the lungs or the throat.

www.cks.nhs.uk

PEG

A PEG (or Gastrostomy) is a feeding tube which passes through the skin and the abdominal wall directly into the stomach. This is used to give patients nutrients and fluids without the need to swallow.

Peg Feeding

Jejunostomy Tube

This is a tube that is inserted through the skin into the jejunum, (part of the small intestine). It is used to give patients nutients and fluids without the need to swallow and bi passing the stomach.

JEG Feeding

MRI Scan- (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)

This is a scan which enables pictures to be taken of all parts of the body including the brain and spinal cord.

www.netdoctor.co.uk or www.cks.nhs.uk

EEG Scan - (Electroencephalogram)

This scan records the electrical activity of the brain.

www.brainandspine.org.uk

CT Scan - (Computerised Tomography Scanner)

This is a special kind of X-Ray machine enabling x-rays to be taken from different angles.

www.netdoctor.co.uk

PICC Line - (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter)

This is a form of introvenous access that can be used for a long period of time