What are the chances of survival of a comatose patient?

Question

Hi doctor,

My dad is 73 years old. He has hypertension and types 2 diabetes, but he is always under control (he is a very healthy person and does not suffer from obesity), always doing a very detailed check, and it was fine. He started vomiting blood and was admitted to the hospital immediately. They operated him twice, first to release the pressure, and second, they did something called a shunt (his BP was 160/80, now it is 150/80, and now he is comatose. He has a Glasgow coma scale rating of 4. He responds to severe pain and opens his eyes. Is he going to survive, and what is going to happen next?

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I am not sure if you explained what is going on with your dad. From the reports you shared, it seems like he had bleeding in his brain. It is severe enough to put him in a coma. The question I have is why? It could be diabetes or hypertension, but the fact that he was vomiting blood makes me think of systemic disease. I am not sure if he was taking blood thinners before this event. As of now, his condition, unfortunately, is not that great. You should speak to the neurosurgeon to check if they can drain the bleeding. Also, it would be nice to get anticoagulation to work up to see why he bleeds from the mouth and in the brain.

I am sorry to deliver bad news to you. His prognosis is not that great.

Thank you.