Assessing Patients With Altered Level of Consciousness

Patients with alterations in level of consciousness are among the most difficult to assess, so knowledge of how to assess these patients is important for tracking trends and identifying changes. This article discusses methods used to assess patients admitted with an altered level of consciousness and describes the neurological assessment of and potential causes for altered level of consciousness. Identifying and understanding certain examination findings enable faster recognition and intervention for life-threatening neurological events, directly impacting outcomes for neurologically compromised individuals. (Critical Care Nurse. 2023;43[4]:58-65)