Jt. Giacino et K. Kalmar, THE VEGETATIVE AND MINIMALLY CONSCIOUS STATES - A COMPARISON OF CLINICAL-FEATURES AND FUNCTIONAL OUTCOME, The journal of head trauma rehabilitation, 12(4), 1997, pp. 36-51
To compare the vegetative (VS) and minimally conscious states (MCS) wi
th regard to the incidence of specific clinical features and differenc
es in functional outcome across the first year post injury. It was hyp
othesized that patients diagnosed with MCS on admission to rehabilitat
ion would have more favorable outcomes at 1 year post injury relative
to patients diagnosed with VS and that this difference would be more p
ronounced for traumatic (TBI) versus nontraumatic brain injury (NTBI).
Design: Retrospective analysis of clinical findings collected using a
standardized methodology (ie, Coma Recovery Scale). Findings were uti
lized to determine diagnosis and functional outcome at 1, 3, 6, and 12
months post injury. Setting: Acute and extended care brain injury reh
abilitation hospital. Patients: 104 patients (62 male, 42 female; mean
age = 37 years; mean weeks post injury to admission = 10) with severe
TBI or NTBI (VS = 55; MCS = 49) admitted to a rehabilitation-based co
ma intervention program. Results: Functional outcome at 3, 6, and 12 m
onths post injury was significantly more favorable for patients diagno
sed with MCS relative to those with an admitting diagnosis of VS, and
this difference was greatest for patients in MCS following TBI. Visual
tracking and motor agitation were found to occur in VS but were of lo
w frequency in comparison to MCS. Conclusions: In patients with severe
disorders of consciousness, those diagnosed with MCS show more contin
uous improvement and attain significantly more favorable outcomes by 1
year post injury than those diagnosed with VS. The presence of specif
ic clinical features, particularly visual tracking, may contribute add
itional information to differential diagnosis in patients whose level
of behavioral responsiveness is severely diminished.