Most brain trauma patients can fully recover consciousness through rehab

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-03-02 03:00

International

Human-brain By Hugh Guiney, CC BY-SA 3.0

Doctors should be wary of withdrawing life support for comatose or unresponsive patients with traumatic brain injury, because most patients can recover consciousness during rehab, according to US scientists. They looked at data from 17,470 brain trauma patients, nearly two-thirds of whom were initially unconscious. Following acute care, around one-in-eight patients remained unconscious, but nearly all of these patients (98 per cent) recovered consciousness during rehabilitation. The findings suggest caution is warranted in early decisions to withdraw or withhold treatment in comatose brain trauma patients, they say.

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Journal/
conference: JAMA Neurology

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Colorado School of Medicine, USA

Funder: This study was funded by grant 90DRTB0002 to Indiana University School of Medicine, grant 90DPTB0007 to Craig Hospital, grant 90DPTB0011 to Spaulding-Harvard TBI Model System, and grant 90DPTB0004 to Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute from NIDILRR within the Administration for Community Living, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Veterans Health Administration Central Office VA TBI Model Systems Program of Research.

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