Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Coma
A coma is a deep state of unconsciousness. An individual in a coma is alive but unable to move or respond to his or her environment. Coma may occur as a complication of an underlying illness, or as a result of injuries, such as brain injury.
A coma rarely lasts more than 2 to 4 weeks. The outcome for coma depends on the cause, severity, and site of the damage. People may come out of a coma with physical, intellectual, and psychological problems. Some people may remain in a coma for years or even decades. For those people, the most common cause of death is infection, such as pneumonia.
It sits within Brain and Nerves.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Coma
301 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Prognostication of Recovery in Early Disorders of Consciousness StudyUniversity of Pennsylvania
- Circadian Rhythmicity During Coma AwakeningHospices Civils de Lyon
- Multimodal Assessment and Prognosis in Disorders of Consciousness After Severe Brain Injury (CyDoC-MAP)Nicosia General Hospital
- Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Patients in Comatose StateSima Mofakham
- Pediatric Influence of Cooling Duration on Efficacy in Cardiac Arrest Patients (P-ICECAP)University of Michigan
- Efficacy of High-Flow Humidified Oxygen (HFHO) in Apneic Oxygenation for Apnea Testing: A Comparison With Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)Centre Hospitalier Régional d'Orléans
Research already completed
- Cyclosporine A Pretreatment and Kidney Graft FunctionUniversity Hospital, Clermont-Ferrand
- Influence of Cooling Duration on Efficacy in Cardiac Arrest PatientsUniversity of Michigan
- The Anticipated Organ Donation ApproachCentre Hospitalier Intercommunal de Toulon La Seyne sur Mer
- Effect of Virtual Reality Simulation on Nursing Students' Knowledge and Skill Performance in Respiratory Physical Examination: A Randomized Controlled TrialGazi University
- Comprehensive Observations and Multidisciplinary Approaches in the Management of Unconscious PatientsUniversity Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
- Determining ICU Staffs Conceptions, Opinions, Views, Experiences and Reflection of Brain Death and Organ DonationUniversity Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- Stupor and ComaMerck & Co., Inc.
Related Issues
- Facts about Vegetative and Minimally Conscious States after Severe Brain InjuryBrainline
- Locked-in SyndromeNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
- Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: ComaNational Institutes of Health
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Persistent Vegetative StateNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Coma, Persistent Vegetative State. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Coma, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.