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DISORDERS OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Who improves from coma, how do they improve, and then what?

A committee has developed a guideline on prolonged disorders of consciousness. Caution in prognostication is advocated because patients who have been unconscious or barely conscious for a long time might improve. The new guideline voices concern about persistent vegetative state as a clinical diagnosis but also rejects several unsupported therapies.

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Fig. 1: Current concepts categories of persistent disorders of consciousness.

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Correspondence to Eelco F. M. Wijdicks.

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Wijdicks, E.F.M. Who improves from coma, how do they improve, and then what?. Nat Rev Neurol 14, 694–696 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41582-018-0084-x

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