Descriptive term

Symptoms

Confusion

Patients seem fully awake but their thoughts and actions are incoherent and chaotic; likely disoriented to time or place; exclude aphasia, which may mimic confusion

Delirium

Sudden onset and fluctuating symptoms that feature inattention or easy distractibility and disorganized thinking, or fluctuations in consciousness from a hypervigilant state to lethargic

Lethargy (excessive drowsiness)

Patients wake in response to verbal stimuli, provide verbal responses, and make voluntary movements

Stupor

Patients wake after a strong (vigorous, repeated) stimulation, show no or minimal response to verbal commands

Coma

No response even to strong pain stimuli; reflexive movements can occur