(The Mirage) – Every year, approximately 130,000 Dutch people suffer some form of acquired brain injury. The causes can be traumatic such as a fall or road-traffic accident, but also a brain hemorrhages or lack of oxygen in the brain (for example after a resuscitation).
Sometimes severe brain injuries can lead to a prolonged disorder of consciousness (pDoC). This situation arises after coma when patients open their eyes and breathe on their own, but their consciousness does not return within four weeks after brain injury.
It was unknown how many patients were admitted to Dutch healthcare institutions with a specific form of pDoC: the minimally conscious state. CONTINUE