My husband went into the hospital with internal bleeding and an infection that started to break down his liver and kidneys. His blood pressure dropped and they had to incubate him. He is breathing and the ventilator is providing 16%. He is on blood pressure meds to keep his heart rate up. It was very low when I saw him like 50/38. He has a high ammonia content. Kidneys are working so when they incubated him obviously they sedated him. They took him off sedation and he did not wake up and that was 12 hours ago. Before I got him to the hospital he had diarrhea and vomiting. And slept. He was confused due to the ammonia in his blood. Whys wont he wake up?
Hello, Suggestive of severe liver disease. Ammonia is a toxic substance produced by the breakdown of protein or by the bacterial in the intestines. The liver normally converts ammonia into urea, which is then eliminated in urine. Increased ammonia levels in the blood are due to inability of the liver to convert ammonia to urea. This may be caused by cirrhosis or severe hepatitis. Increased ammonia can build up in the bloodstream and which can affect the function of the nervous system causing confusion, impaired consciousness, and coma. Based on the history given your husband seems to be suffering from coma apparently caused by severe liver disease. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.