Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 492 patients in a vegetative state in 29 Italian rehabilitation units. What about outcome?

Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 492 patients in a vegetative state in 29 Italian rehabilitation units. What about outcome? Funct Neurol. 2018 Apr/Jun;33(2):97-103 Authors: Avesani R, Dambruoso F, Scandola M, Formisano R, De Tanti A, Ferro S, Smania N, Roncari L, Rossato E Abstract Recent studies on recovery of consciousness of subjects in a vegetative state (VS) admitted to rehabilitation units have focused mainly on the identification of prognostic factors, whereas few studies have focused on outcome. The aim of this study was to compare demographic and clinical data and report functional outcome of patients in a VS due to severe acquired brain injury (ABI) of different aetiologies. The study was a retrospective multicentre cohort study and involved 492 patients in a VS due to traumatic (TBI) or non-traumatic (NTBI) severe ABI admitted to 29 Italian rehabilitation units. Demographic and clinical data recorded included age, gender, aetiology, Glasgow Coma Scale score; onset-to-admission interval; length of stay in the rehabilitation unit; the department from which they were referred; and the presence of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy or tracheostomy. Recovery of consciousness and disability were evaluated using a discharge Disability Rating Scale. At discharge, 53.11% patients had emerged from VS, with TBI subjects significantly more likely to recover consciousness than NTBI ones. Subjects with NTBI had a signifi...
Source: Functional Neurology - Category: Neurology Tags: Funct Neurol Source Type: research