New technique helps to assess vegetative state

doi:10.1136/bmj.321.7255.196

BMJ 2000;321:196 ( 22 July )

News

New technique helps to assess vegetative state

Zosia Kmietowicz, London
The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Doctors and relatives of patients with brain injury can now determine more accurately whether they have any awareness thanksto a technique developed by staff at the Royal Hospital for Neuro-DisabilityinLondon.

The sensory modality assessment and rehabilitation technique (SMART), which took 10 years to develop, is the brainchild ofoccupational therapists in the brain injury unit at the hospital.Dissatisfied with the lack of a standardised tool for assessingpatients with brain injuries, they set about making theirown.

In 1996 a study showed that after assessment with SMART 43% of the patients who had been admitted to the brain injury unitand believed to be in a vegetative state had been wrongly diagnosed(BMJ 1996; 313:13-6).

Dr Keith Andrew, director of medical and research services, who carried out the study, commented: "The slow-to-recover patientis often incorrectly labelled as being in vegetative state. Althoughaware of their surroundings, . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike

Complore

Connotea

Del.icio.us Add to Digg

Digg

Technorati What's this?

Relevant Article

Misdiagnosis of the vegetative state: retrospective study in a rehabilitation unit: Keith Andrews, Lesley Murphy, Ros Munday, and Clare Littlewood
BMJ 1996 313: 13-16. [Abstract] [Full Text]