Elderly patients aged 88 years who become vegetative after cerebral infarction usually have a poor prognosis and a high mortality rate, and the expected survival time is related to the occurrence of complications.
The cerebral hemisphere function of patients in vegetative state is seriously damaged while the brain stem function is preserved. Due to the loss of consciousness, long-term bed rest, and the need for invasive operations such as tracheal intubation and indwelling urinary catheterization, it is very easy for various complications to occur, resulting in the death of patients, and the more complications and the more serious the symptoms are, the worse the prognosis will be.
1. Infection: Since the patients are unable to expel sputum on their own and indwelling catheterization, they are very prone to pulmonary infection and urinary tract infection.
2. Decubitus ulcers: Because the patient is lying in bed for a long time, it is very easy for pressure sores to appear on the pressure areas, such as the tail-sacral area and the hip area.
3. Malnutrition: Since patients cannot eat by themselves, they are prone to malnutrition.
4. Venous thrombosis: when patients are lying in bed for a long time, blood return slows down and deep vein thrombosis is easy to be formed.
The life expectancy of elderly patients who become vegetative state after cerebral infarction is affected by many factors, such as the different conditions of the patients, the different treatments and care they receive, and the life expectancy of the patients.