A "neuro yawn" ?

I'm new to critical care and work in the cardiac ICU. My patient the other night was a vented elderly man showing minimal response. Pos gag/cough, neg babinksi, intermittent corneal's and response to pain; PERRLA; no response to voice. He recently started yawning occasionally, and when another nurse saw that she said, "well that's not good." I asked her what she meant, and she said that it was a "neuro yawn." She said she didn't know much, only that it meant that it was a bad sign, like it's another basic reflex that only shows up when a patient is or is nearly brain dead. Anyone able to explain this "neuro yawn" ?

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

This might help...

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-discussion/neuro-yawn-478257.html

[BeatsPerMinute, BSN, RN]

I read the thread before posting. Seems like no one was quite sure there.

[realnursealso/LPN, LPN]

Pathological yawning as a presenting symptom of brain stem ischaemia in two patients

I was interested in the term you used, so I googled it. This article speaks of what you asked about. Apparently there is a relationship shown between yawning and brain injury. Hope this is informative for you, if not google it again. Happy New Year!

[LynM75]

Had a pt recently who may have had a stroke at home and was not caught (baseline sluggish, prev strokes)until Neuro saw her and she was yawning and the MD said excessive yawning can be a sign in the nonverbal pts.

[Surprised1, MSN, RN]

Yes, I've seen it in the final days of life in cases of brain herniation.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses

[SassyTachyRN]

Abnormal yawning in stroke patients: the role of brain thermoregulation

That article suggests maybe it's a way of cooling the brain to preserve it. I was always told it's a sign of brain ischemia/herniation.

[BeatsPerMinute, BSN, RN]

thank you everybody! :)

[Lev, MSN, RN, NP]

My patient who got narcan from a methadone overdose the other day woke up yawning a lot and then she began shivering (withdrawing).