If you or a loved face a risk of traumatic brain injury in California, you will most likely have numerous questions about the severity of such injuries. This includes questions regarding the chance of falling into a coma should you be subject to a serious brain injury, which can result in many devastating long-term effects.
According to Brainline.org, particularly severe head injuries can cause comas. Comas generally occur when you have suffered significant damage to the blood vessels within the brain. This is also known as a hematoma, or a buildup of blood. Your chance of coma can be greater depending on where blood collects in your brain. For instance, hematomas affecting the surface of your brain cause a gradual increase of pressure which may not be evident at first. Acute and chronic surface hematomas are the most serious, and may end in coma as a result.
Your degree of consciousness after a head injury can also be an indicator of whether a coma will occur. This is determined by the Glasgow Coma Scale, which offers medical professionals a rating system used to assess potential effects. If you have a score of 8 or lower, you face the greatest risk of significant long-term effects (including the possibility of falling into a persistent vegetative state).
If a coma does occur, a lack of eye movement or a negligible motor response after a 24-hour period tends to point to the worst prognosis. In this event, death is a likely occurrence regardless of age. However, age can factor into your ability to recover from a coma related to traumatic head injury, with those over 60 less likely to make a successful recovery.