A story told by his mother was presented on tape to a trauma patient in persistent vegetative state (PVS). [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Minimally conscious state The patient has altered consciousness which is usually severe but there are aspects of awareness which are present, albeit inconsistently. [patient.info]

• Aspiration

  Good skin care, passive joint exercises to minimise contractures, suction where necessary to help avoid aspiration, careful management of the incontinent bladder and bowel, and attention to oral and dental hygiene are all required. [patient.info]

  A tracheostomy may be required to maintain airway patency and prevent aspiration pneumonia. Bladder and bowel care is desirable for hygienic reasons. [dx.doi.org]

• Ulcer

  Daily skin care and frequent repositioning of the patient prevent decubitus ulcers. A tracheostomy may be required to maintain airway patency and prevent aspiration pneumonia. Bladder and bowel care is desirable for hygienic reasons. [dx.doi.org]

• Sweating

  The prognosis is worse if there are hypothalamic disturbances producing central fever, excess sweating, disturbances in salt and water metabolism, and refractory pulmonary problems. [doi.org]

• Facial Swelling

  Facial swelling from prolonged administration of artificial nutrition and hydration decreases as the patient becomes progressively dehydrated; during the last few days of life, facial features may assume a more normal appearance. [dx.doi.org]

• Meningism

  […] cardiac arrest (n 3, 18 %, including one with attempted CPR), traumatic brain injury (n 3, 18 %), neurodegenerative conditions (n 2, 12 %), and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy due to respiratory arrest (n 3, 18 %), metabolic derangements (n 2, 12 %), and meningitis [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  View Article Google Scholar Calvet J, Coll J: Meningitis of sinusoid origin with the form of coma vigil. Rev Otoneuroophtalmol. 1959, 31: 443-445. PubMed Google Scholar Jennett B, Plum F: Persistent vegetative state after brain damage. [doi.org]

  In A Page: Pediatric Signs and Symptoms) describe several potential causes of PVS, which are as follows: Bacterial, viral, or fungal infection, including meningitis Increased intracranial pressure, such as a tumor or abscess Vascular pressure which causes [en.wikipedia.org]

• Apraxia

  This situation is further complicated when patients with such disorders of consciousness have underlying deficits in the domain of verbal or non-verbal communication functions, such as aphasia, agnosia or apraxia [ 32, 33 ]. [doi.org]

• Loss of Speech

  Akinetic mutism is a rare syndrome characterized by pathologically slowed or nearly absent bodily movement and loss of speech 28. Wakefulness and self-awareness may be preserved, but the level of mental function is reduced. [doi.org]

• Akinesia

  Severe rigidity and akinesia would also have locked them into a bedridden state. [dx.doi.org]

The SBU assessment stated: "[t]here is limited evidence that either visually rated EEG or qEEG helps the diagnostic workup differentiate AD (Alzheimer’s Disease) patients from controls or AD from other dementia disorders." [aetna.com]

• Generalized Periodic Patterns

  EEG findings included normal, continuous generalized slowing, intermittent generalized slowing, background slowing, background suppression, alpha, generalized periodic pattern, PLEDS, and triphasic waves. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  EEG findings included normal, continuous generalized slowing, intermittent generalized slowing, background slowing, background suppression, alpha, generalized periodic pattern, PLEDS… CONTINUE READING [semanticscholar.org]

• Triphasic Waves

  EEG findings included normal, continuous generalized slowing, intermittent generalized slowing, background slowing, background suppression, alpha, generalized periodic pattern, PLEDS, and triphasic waves. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

  This may cause epileptiform changes, varying in type and extent, such as spiked triphasic waves or periodic or persistent epileptic activity ( 24 ). [tidsskriftet.no]

• Abnormal EEG

  The authors concluded that the CHI/b identified neonates with high Sarnat scores and abnormal EEG. These results support its potential as an objective indicator of neurological injury in infants with HIE. [aetna.com]

• Isoelectric EEG

  There have been occasional reports of isoelectric EEGs in patients in a vegetative state 37,58,76,81,82. [doi.org]

• Hyperprolactinemia

  Of interest, in 55% PVS male patients hyperprolactinemia was observed, whereas in outcome patients more than six months these values were within normal range. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

• White Matter Lesions

  matter lesions such as atrophy and diffuse axonal injury. [medicc.org]

  Demographic data of patients in a PVS have been reported previously 2 ; causes were cardiorespiratory arrest (n 5), diffuse axonal injury (n 3), drug overdose (n 2), prolonged respiratory insufficiency (n 2), encephalitis with diffuse white matter lesions [dx.doi.org]

These were conducted at baseline and after completion of the treatments. 3 children were enrolled. The Rancho assessment scales showed no change with treatment. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Two months after the start of the treatment, he was extubated and was able to say his name and address correctly. Six months after the start of treatment, he was transferred to another hospital to continue rehabilitation. [dx.doi.org]

Conflicting perspectives about the diagnosis and prognosis of the persistent vegetative state (PVS) as well as end-of-life (EOL) decision-making were disseminated in the Terri Schiavo case. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Median survival based on etiology varied from 3.0 to 8.6 years; no consistent relationship existed between etiology and duration of survival. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Traumatic brain injury and diffuse cerebral hypoxia are the most common etiologies. Patients in PVS may appear awake but are not aware or conscious, and they are unable to communicate with others or purposefully interact with their environment. [amboss.com]

Persistent vegetative state after severe brain damage was studied epidemiologically in 110 cases from 1973 to 1976. The causes of brain damage were varied. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

The epidemiology of pediatric head injuries: Data from a referral centre in Victoria, Australia. J Paediatr Child Health. 2009; May 28; 10 Egan J, Snyman N, Scheinberg N. et al. [doi.org]

[…] produced and regulated. [ 9 ] It is also important to determine whether patients in PDOC experience pain, and functional imaging may also be of help in this area. [ 10 ] There is consideration for the role of post-mortems in confirming the diagnosis - for epidemiological [patient.info]

To clarify the pathophysiological differences of the cerebrovascular reserve capacity in relation to cerebral cognitive impairments between persistent vegetative state (PVS) and vascular dementia (VD), we evaluated acetazolamide (ACZ) vasoreactivity testing [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

neurodegenerative diseases, CNS infections, metabolic disturbances, toxins, developmental malformations of the CNS ) References: [1] Pathophysiology Widespread damage to the white matter of both cerebral hemispheres and/or the thalamus bilaterally, [amboss.com]

[…] and fractional anisotropy are related to the density, diameter and geometry of myelinated fibers.[10,23] We are using this technique to assess anatomical connectivity in PVS and MCS patients.[11] This is crucial for explaining and understanding the pathophysiology [medicc.org]

In the present article we seek to provide a principle understanding of electroencephalography (EEG), with an outline of the basic physiology and some simple pathophysiological observations. [tidsskriftet.no]

Heterogeneity of brain injury, consequences of long term minimal brain activity and potential factors that prevent recovery to consciousness are discussed. [ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Much of this research focuses on finding better ways to prevent and treat coma. [web.archive.org]

Daily skin care and frequent repositioning of the patient prevent decubitus ulcers. A tracheostomy may be required to maintain airway patency and prevent aspiration pneumonia. Bladder and bowel care is desirable for hygienic reasons. [dx.doi.org]