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Misdiagnosis of unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (vegetative states) on bedside clinical examination is as high as 40%. Functional neuroimaging studies such as positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have progressively changed our understanding of the spectrum of coma and chronic disorders of consciousness. However, use of functional imaging techniques to diagnose patients with disorders of consciousness is often difficult and ambiguous.
This clinical validation study included 41 patients diagnosed with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, 4 with locked-in syndrome, and 81 in a minimally conscious state followed for 1 year. Compared with these clinical diagnoses, identification of patients in a mini…