Survey study of the etiology of non-traumatic altered consciousness in the Emergency Department at Suez Canal University Hospital in Egypt

BACKGROUND: Disorders of consciousness including coma in non-trauma patients can be caused by a wide variety of pathologies affecting the central nervous system. They represent a frequent challenge in emergency medicine and are combined with a very high in-hospital mortality. Hence, early treatment of these patients is vital and increases the likelihood of a good outcome. AIM: To identify the causes of altered consciousness presentation to the Emergency Department at Suez Canal University Hospital. METHODS: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted on 87 patients with acute non-traumatic disturbed level of consciousness (DLOC) at the Emergency Department. RESULTS: The mean age of the studied patients was 60.5 ± 13.6 years. Among them, 60% were males and 40% were females. The most common cause of acute non-traumatic DLOC was systemic infection, such as sepsis and septic shock (25.3%), followed by respiratory causes (24.1%) and neurological causes (18.4%). CONCLUSION: The most common cause of acute non-traumatic DLOC was systemic infections followed by respiratory and neurological causes.