Recovery from vegetative state of patients with a severe brain injury: a 4-year real-practice prospective cohort study.

Recovery from vegetative state of patients with a severe brain injury: a 4-year real-practice prospective cohort study. Funct Neurol. 2017 Jul/Sep;32(3):131-136 Authors: Baricich A, de Sire A, Antoniono E, Gozzerino F, Lamberti G, Cisari C, Invernizzi M Abstract Patients who have suffered severe traumatic or nontraumatic brain injuries can show a progressive recovery, transitioning through a range of clinical conditions. They may progress from coma to a vegetative state (VS) and/or a minimally conscious state (MCS). A longer duration of the VS is known to be related to a lower probability of emergence from it; furthermore, the literature seems to lack evidence of late improvements in these patients. This real-practice prospective cohort study was conducted in inpatients in a VS following a severe brain injury, consecutively admitted to a vegetative state unit (VSU). The aim of the study was to assess their recovery in order to identify variables that might increase the probability of a VS patient transitioning to MCS. Rehabilitation treatment included passive joint mobilisation and helping/placing patients into an upright sitting position on a tilt table. All the patients underwent a specific assessment protocol every month to identify any emergence, however late, from the VS. Over a 4-year period, 194 patients suffering sequelae of a severe brain injury, consecutively seen, had an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score ≤ 8. Of these, 63...
Source: Functional Neurology - Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research