[en] This paper reviews the current state of bedside behavioral assessment in brain-damaged patients with impaired consciousness (coma, vegetative state, minimally conscious state). As misdiagnosis in this field is unfortunately very frequent, we first discuss a number of fundamental principles of clinical evaluation that should guide the assessment of consciousness in brain-damaged patients in order to avoid confusion between vegetative state and minimally conscious state. The role of standardized behavioral assessment tools is particularly stressed. The second part of this paper reviews existing behavioral assessment techniques of consciousness, showing that there are actually a large number of these scales. After a discussion of the most widely used scale, the Glasgow Coma Scale, we present several new promising tools that show higher sensitivity and reliability for detecting subtle signs of recovery of consciousness in the post-acute setting.
Disciplines :
Neurology Neurosciences & behavior
Author, co-author :
Majerus, Steve ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences cognitives > Psychopathologie cognitive
Gill-Thwaites, Helen
Andrews, Keith
Laureys, Steven ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Centre de recherches du cyclotron
Language :
English
Title :
Behavioral Evaluation of Consciousness in Severe Brain Damage
Publication date :
2005
Journal title :
Progress in Brain Research
ISSN :
0079-6123
eISSN :
1875-7855
Publisher :
Elsevier, Netherlands
Volume :
150
Issue :
Boundaries of Consciousness: Neurobiology and Neuropathology
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