Impaired Consciousness

Impaired consciousness is the decrease in the level of alertness or awareness. A mild impairment can appear as sleepiness, while a severe impairment can result in coma. Impaired consciousness can result from many causes. Examples include electrolyte abnormalities, seizures, drug overdose and stroke. It can also result from neurosurgical problems such as head injury, stroke, bleeding in the brain, and brain tumors. Since the causes of altered or impaired consciousness are many, often a neurosurgeon is involved in the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of this disorder. Depending on the cause of the impairment, treatment varies from medications to brain surgery.