General symptoms
Alteration of consciousness
Coma
- profound state of unconsciousness associated with depressed cerebral activity from which the individual cannot be aroused; coma generally occurs when there is dysfunction or injury involving both cerebral hemispheres or the brain stem.
Transient alteration of awareness
Persistent vegetative state
Alteration of consciousness other
- loss of the ability to maintain awareness of self and environment combined with markedly reduced responsiveness to environmental stimuli.
- The neurologic status characterized by the occurrence of a loss of the ability to perceive and respond.
- (ob-tun-DAY-shun) A dulled or reduced level of alertness or consciousness.
Hallucinations
- subjectively experienced sensations in the absence of an appropriate stimulus, but which are regarded by the individual as real; may be of organic origin, drug induced, or associated with a mental disorder.
- Perceptions through any sense modality in the absence of an appropriate stimulus. (Usually indicative of abnormality but may be experienced occasionally by normal persons).
- A false sensory perception in the absence of an external stimulus, as distinct from an illusion which is a misperception of an external stimulus.
Syncope and collapse
- fainting due to a sudden fall of blood pressure below the level required to maintain oxygenation of brain tissue.
- Extremely weak; threatened with syncope.
- A spontaneous loss of consciousness caused by insufficient blood to the brain.
Convulsions
- the most dramatic type of seizure, characterized by tonic and clonic contraction of most skeletal muscles.
Febrile convulsions
- seizures that occur during a fever; a common condition, affecting 2-5% of children aged 3 months to five years; majority are simple febrile seizures (generally defined as generalized onset, single seizures with a duration of less than 30 minutes); complex febrile seizures are characterized by focal onset, duration greater than 30 minutes, and/or more than one seizure in a 24 hour period.
Complex febrile convulsions
- seizures that occur during a fever; a common condition, affecting 2-5% of children aged 3 months to five years; majority are simple febrile seizures (generally defined as generalized onset, single seizures with a duration of less than 30 minutes); complex febrile seizures are characterized by focal onset, duration greater than 30 minutes, and/or more than one seizure in a 24 hour period.
Other convulsions
- the most dramatic type of seizure, characterized by tonic and clonic contraction of most skeletal muscles.
- WHAT: Seizure. Seizure: a paroxysmal transient disturbance of brain function that may be manifested as episodic impairment or loss of consciousness, abnormal motor phenomena, psychic or sensory disturbance or perturbation of the autonomic brain electrical activity. WHY: Seizures may occur in systemic lupus erythematosus or in necrotizing vasculitides such as polyarteritis, eosinophilic granulomatous vasculitis, aortic arch arteritis, or rheumatoid arteritis. HOW: A seizure probably exists when there are generalized convulsions or focal motor/sensory phenomenon. GENERALIZED CONVULSIONS may be preceded by an aura but usually have a sudden loss of consciousness with generalized muscle rigidity then generalized muscle activity. They may have incontinence of urine or feces or laceration of the tongue or buccal mucosa. This usually is followed by flaccidity, drowsiness, or complaints of a headache or sore muscles. FOCAL MOTOR/SENSORY PHENOMENON may precede generalized convulsions but may be tonic or clonic muscle activity that is limited to one extremity, one side of the body, or one side of the face or lateralized/localized sensory sensations. These may only be brief sudden involuntary muscle contractions associated with transitory loss of muscle tone and a brief loss of contact with the environment, repetitive automatic behavior patterns, feelings of familiarity or unfamiliarity associated with compulsive thinking, unpleasant epi- gastric sensations that may radiate to the head, or hallucinations of an auditory, vertiginous, olfactory, gustatory, or visual type. REFS: 1) Steinberg, AD: "Management of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus". In Textbook of Rheumatology (Ch. 70). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co., 1981. 2) Hunder, GG and Conn, DL: "Necrotizing Vasculitis". In Textbook of Rheumatology (Ch. 72). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co., 1981. 3) Harris, ED Jr: "Pathogenesis of Rheumatoid Arthritis". In Textbook of Rheumatology (Ch. 59). Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders Co., 1981. 4) Bennet, RM and Spargo, BH: Neuropsychiatric problems in mixed connective tissue disease. Am J Med 65(6), December 1978, pp. 955-62. DN19307-1. 5) Duman, S and Ginsburg, S: "Epilepsy (Seizures)". In Problem- Oriented Medical Diagnosis (Ch. 10). Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1975.
- (SEE-zhurz) Convulsions; sudden, involuntary movements of the muscles.
- Sudden, involuntary skeletal muscular contractions of cerebral or brain stem origin.--2004
Dizziness and giddiness
- illusory sense that either the environment or one's own body is revolving; may result from disease of the inner ear or disturbances of the vestibular centers or pathways.
- Vertigo is a feeling of movement, a sensation as if the external world were revolving around the patient (objective vertigo) or as if he himself were revolving in space (subjective vertigo). Vertigo is medically distinct from dizziness, lightheadedness, and unsteadiness.
Sleep disturbances
Unspecified sleep disturbance
Insomnia with sleep apnea, unspecified
Insomnia, unspecified
- Difficulty in going to sleep or getting enough sleep.
Hypersomnia with sleep apnea, unspecified
Hypersomnia, unspecified
Disruptions of 24-hour sleep-wake cycle, unspecified
Dysfunctions associated with sleep stages or arousal from sleep
Unspecified sleep apnea
Sleep related movement disorder, unspecified
Other sleep disturbances
Fever
Malaise and fatigue
Chronic fatigue syndrome
- distinctive syndrome characterized by chronic fatigue, mild fever, lymphadenopathy, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, depression, and memory loss; candidate etiologic agents include Epstein-Barr and other herpesviruses.
- Syndrome thought to be caused by a viral organism resulting in chronic fatigue, fever, pain, sore throat, and, in some cases, depression.
- A syndrome of unknown etiology. Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a clinical diagnosis characterized by an unexplained persistent or relapsing chronic fatigue that is of at least six months' duration, is not the result of ongoing exertion, is not substantially alleviated by rest, and results in substantial reduction of previous levels of occupational, educational, social, or personal activities. Common concurrent symptoms of at least six months duration include impairment of memory or concentration, diffuse pain, sore throat, tender lymph nodes, headaches of a new type, pattern, or severity, and nonrestorative sleep. The etiology of CFS may be viral or immunologic. Neurasthenia and fibromyalgia may represent related disorders. Also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis.
Other malaise and fatigue
- Weakness; lack of energy and strength.
- Physical weakness, lack of strength and vitality, or a lack of concentration.
- Exhaustion that interferes with physical and mental activities.
- state of weariness following a period of exertion, mental or physical, characterized by a decreased capacity for work and reduced efficiency to respond to stimuli.
- An overwhelming sustained sense of exhaustion and decreased capacity for physical and mental work at usual level
- That state, following a period of mental or bodily activity, characterized by a lessened capacity for work and reduced efficiency of accomplishment, usually accompanied by a feeling of weariness, sleepiness, or irritability.
Generalized hyperhidrosis
Other general symptoms
Fussy infant (baby)
Excessive crying of infant (baby)
Memory loss
- Partial or complete loss of memory caused by organic or psychological factors. The loss may be temporary or permanent, and may involve old or recent memories. Compare FORGETTING and MEMORY DECAY.
- Systematic and extensive loss of memory caused by organic or psychological factors. The loss may be temporary or permanent, and may involve old or recent memories.
- Memory loss for events and experiences that occurred before the incident that produced the amnesia.
Early satiety
Other excessive crying
Generalized pain
- Pain that is difficult to pinpoint.
- unpleasant sensation induced by noxious stimuli and generally received by specialized nerve endings.
- Unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage.
- The sensation of discomfort, distress, or agony, resulting from the stimulation of specialized nerve endings.
- Causing physical or psychological misery, pain or distress.
Altered mental status
Other general symptoms
