Younger age, shorter time since injury, higher level of responsiveness and consciousness, and EEG reactivity to eye opening are all factors that can predict 6-month improvement among patients in a vegetative or minimally conscious state from a severe brain injury, new research suggests.
In addition, information on such factors can be gathered at the bedside relatively easily and without sophisticated technical tools — and doing so is not time-consuming or expensive, lead author Anna Estraneo, MD, a neurologist at Nola General Hospital, Naples, Italy, told Medscape Medical News.
Dr Anna Estraneo
Determining factors that predict better outcome in patients with a "prolonged" disorder of consciousness (DoC), defined as lasting more than 28 days, is important for improving function and quality of life, she said.
"This study shows that by applying standardized multimodal assessment protocols, clinicians can identify people with DoC most suitable for tailored rehabilitation programs and therapeutic interventions," added Estraneo, who is also a scientific consultant at the Neurorehabilitation Unit, Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation, Florence, Italy.
The findings were published online July 13 in Neurology.
Three Etiologies
Although previous studies have looked at the predictive value of individual factors, such as scores on the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R), this is the first to closely examine a large number of predictors in patients from multiple centers.
