Abstract:
There has been a lack of diagnostic tools that sufficiently incorporate consens-based recommendations regarding the assessment of brain-injured patients with disorders of consciousness. A new assessment tool, the instrument for assessment of disorders of consciousness (IDB) was validated in this study. Patients of a neurologic rehabilitation unit with impaired consciousness after brain damage (29 male and 11 female) were examined at admission and discharge, using the IDB, the Disability Rating Scale (DRS) and the Coma-Remission Scale-Revised (CRS-R). Differential diagnosis of the disorder of consciousness (Vegetative State (VS), Minimally Conscious State (MCS), conscious) was possible, using the IDB, for all etiology groups. There was a high correlation between the IDB, DRS and CRS-R scores, though the IDB results revealed conscious activity in 6 patients who were diagnosed as VS based on CRS-R. Initial IDB-, CRS-R and DRS-results are significant predictors of short term outcome. The IDB is a valid and sensitive tool for differential diagnosis of disorders of consciousness and is predictive with regard to short-term rehabilitation outcome.
Secondary publication of a thesis.