PERSISTENT VEGETATIVE STATE - WHICH SENSORY-MOTOR VARIABLES SHOULD THE PHYSIOTHERAPIST MEASURE

This study used a modified Delphi technique to establish a list of cor e items which should be included in the measurement, by the physical t herapist, of sensory-motor capacities of persons in a persistent veget ative state. Twenty-eight physical therapists with a mean of 5.9 years of experience working with this clientele participated in the study a nd identified 105 items as being important in the evaluation of the PV S patient (Round I). The study planning committee reduced these to 20 categories and asked the therapists to rate each category of items (a 5-point scale) as to it's importance (Round II). Physiotherapists iden tified 14 variables as being 'extremely' or 'very important' to includ e in such an evaluation. These included: tonus, voluntary movement on request, postural reactions, passive range of motion, tolerance to ver ticalization and postural status. These results are being used to deve lop a quantitative assessment instrument to be used by the physical th erapist working with the PVS patient.