COMA-DESCRIPTORS

SUMMARY

Descriptors of disorders of consciousness (DOC)
1. Prolonged DOC: > 28 days
2. Chronic DOC: when the patient is statistically unlikely to emerge from DOC (after addressing all reversible causes of DOC). The following table shows the time duration for emergence, beyond which it is highly unlikely.



Emergence criteria
1. Reliable & consistent functional communication or object use over 2 serial assessments
2. Consensus from treating team
3. Rarely: expert opinion required

Reference(s)

Wilkinson, I., Furmedge, D. and Sinharay, R. (2017). Oxford handbook of clinical medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Get it on Amazon.
Feather, A., Randall, D. and Waterhouse, M. (2020). Kumar And Clark’s Clinical Medicine. 10th ed. S.L.: Elsevier Health Sciences. Get it on Amazon.
Hannaman, R. A., Bullock, L., Hatchell, C. A., & Yoffe, M. (2016). Internal medicine review core curriculum, 2017-2018. CO Springs, CO: MedStudy.
Therapeutic Guidelines. Melbourne: Therapeutic Guidelines Limited. https://www.tg.org.au [Accessed 2021].