One hundred sixty-nine patients were assessed with both the CRS-R and the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), diagnosed as being in unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS, formerly known as vegetative state), minimally conscious state (MCS), or emergence from MCS (EMCS).
The proposed CRS-R index correlated with the CRS-R total score, Rasch-based score and the CRS-R-MS. <b>Conclusion</b>: The CRS-R index is reliable to diagnose patients with UWS and MCS and can be used in compliance with the CRS-R scoring guidelines.
In this prospective cohort study, all patients consecutively admitted to an Italian Intensive Rehabilitation Unit, with a diagnosis of unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) or minimally conscious state (MCS) due to acquired brain injury, underwent clinical evaluations using the Italian version of the CRS-R. At discharge, patients transitioning from UWS to MCS or emergence from MCS (E-MCS) and from MCS to E-MCS were classified as improved responsiveness (IR).
The Coma Recovery Scale-Revised (CRS-R) score, 24-h electroencephalography (EEG), and ultra-high field 7-T magnetic resonance imaging were used to investigate a male patient with severe brain injury when he was in VS/UWS compared to MCS.
The inter-group CRS-R analysis showed a significant difference in CRS-R between VS and MCS patients at baseline in both the real and sham stimulation groups.