| Title: |
Nociceptive Response Is a Possible Marker of Evolution in the Level of Consciousness in Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome Patients |
| Authors: |
Cortese, Maria Daniela; Arcuri, Francesco; Nemirovsky, Idan E.; Lucca, Lucia Francesca; Tonin, Paolo; Soddu, Andrea; Riganello, Francesco |
| Source: |
Front Neurosci |
| Publisher Information: |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
| Publication Year: |
2021 |
| Subject Terms: |
Neuroscience; psy; socio |
| Description: |
The Nociception Coma Scale (NCS) and its revised version (NCS-R) were used to evaluate behavioral responses to pain in non-communicative patients. We hypothesized that if patients demonstrate changes to their NCS(-R) scores over time, their evolving behavioral abilities could indicate a forthcoming diagnostic improvement with the Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R). Forty-three Vegetative State/Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome (VS/UWS) patients were enrolled in the study. The patients were assessed weekly using the CRS-R and NCS(-R) for four consecutive weeks. The first assessment was within 10 days after hospitalization. The assessments were performed between 09:30 and 11:30 AM in a room with constant levels of humidity, light and temperature, as well as an absence of transient noise. Noxious stimuli were administered using a Newton-meter, with pressure applied to the fingernail bed for a maximum of 5 s unless interrupted by a behavioral response from subjects. Seventeen patients demonstrated improvements in their level of consciousness, 13 of whom showed significant behavioral changes through the NCS(-R) before being diagnosed with a Minimally Conscious State (MCS) according to the CRS-R. The behavioral changes observed using the NCS(-R) corresponded to a high probability of observing an improvement from VS/UWS to MCS. To characterize the increased likelihood of this transition, our results present threshold scores of ≥5 for the NCS (accuracy 86%, sensitivity 87%, and specificity 86%) and ≥3 for the NCS-R (accuracy 77%, sensitivity 89%, and specificity 73%). In conclusion, a careful evaluation of responses to nociceptive stimuli in DOC patients could constitute an effective procedure in assessing their evolving conscious state. |
| Document Type: |
article in journal/newspaper |
| Language: |
English |
| Relation: |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8714733/ |
| Availability: |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8714733/ |
| Rights: |
undefined |
| Accession Number: |
edsbas.856045E7 |
| Database: |
BASE |