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Abstract
Patients with a prolonged disorder of consciousness have a neurological disorder. Few neurologists undertake assessment and management after the acute phase of the person’s illness, even though some of their patients with progressive neurological disorders become persistently unconscious. Their clinical evaluation and deciding on their best interests require full use of a neurologist’s expertise, which is intellectually, emotionally and clinically challenging. I will cover essential aspects of giving such an expert second opinion based on at least 200 cases where I have done so (and over 500 patients seen clinically).
- PERSISTENT VEGETATIVE STATE
- COMA
- CONSCIOUSNESS
Data availability statement
Data sharing not applicable as no datasets generated and/or analysed for this study.
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Data availability statement
Data sharing not applicable as no datasets generated and/or analysed for this study.
Footnotes
X @derickwaderehab
Contributors DTW is the sole author. DTW conceived the ideas and wrote the text. DTW is the guarantor.
Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
Competing interests DTW is often asked to provide a second opinion, and he is usually paid for giving the opinion.
Provenance and peer review Commissioned. Externally peer reviewed by Siobahn Leary, London, UK.
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