COMA: a computer-aided system for orientation of comatose patients to specialized sections

A computerized system is proposed for residents to assist them in placing comatose patients (hospitalized in the emergency section) in the correct specialized ward, since the wrong therapy can lead to fatal complications. Four specialists in neurology, toxicology, and intensive care contributed their knowledge and experience in the analysis of 26 comas. The knowledge base was represented by tables containing three kinds of information: medical antecedents, history of disease, and clinical investigations. The knowledge base was implemented with Turbo-Prolog on an IBM AT3 running MS-DOS. The initial testing period showing the importance of the ponderation coefficient of coma manifestations. A Bayes approach was used to solve this problem, and currently the system is undergoing evaluation