background having a patient in a vegetative state in the family is a complicated and stressful experience. caring for such patients with complete disability at home is very challenging. objectives the present study aimed to explore the outcomes of caring for patients in a vegetative state for families and caregivers at home. patients and methods in this qualitative study, 16 vegetative patients...

Justification. Approximately 10,000 to 25,000 adults and 6,000 to 10,000 children in the United States are diagnosed as being in the persistent vegetative state (PVS). Inasmuch as the Task Force report reviewed the medical facts concerning PVS, the need to develop management standards and guidelines became apparent. The following summary provides practice parameters that outline diagnostic and ...

BACKGROUND Conflicting perspectives about the diagnosis and prognosis of the persistent vegetative state (PVS) as well as end-of-life (EOL) decision-making were disseminated in the Terri Schiavo case. This study examined print media coverage of these features of the case. METHODS We retrieved print media coverage of the Schiavo case from the LexisNexis Academic database and used content analy...

Objectives: The problem of the possibility for treatment of patients in vegetative state remains grossly unresolved, and Dorsal Column Stimulation (DCS) seemed promising in some studies, requiring further attention. Material and Method: A prospective controlled study for 20 consecutive years (1986-2005) was performed on the effect of DCS in 214 patients in persistent vegetative state, resulting...

the paradoxical “arousing” effect of Zolpidem, a highly selective nonbenzodiazepine gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) agonist acting on the [omega]-1 site of the GABA A receptor, in persistent vegetative state (PVS), in minimally conscious state (MCS) patients, ischemic stroke cases, after brain injury, and in patients suffering hypoxic encephalopathy.1 We describe here this paradoxical arousing e...

Patients with 'persistent vegetative state' (PVS) are often cited in the discussions of ethicists as examples of human beings who are unconscious and do not experience life, and a number of theoretical and practical recommendations have been made on that basis. This article examines the evidence and the theoretical rationale for the belief that people with PVS are unconscious and finds them wan...

"Best interests" is widely accepted as the appropriate foundation principle for medico-legal decisions concerning treatment withdrawal from patients in persistent vegetative state (PVS). Its application appears to progress logically from earlier use regarding legally incompetent patients. This author argues, however, that such confidence in the relevance of the principle of best interests to PV...

The aim of the present paper was to investigate the fundamental ethical issues of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) on patients remaining in Persistent Vegetative State (PVS). First, the purpose of this analysis was to discuss the nature of this intervention in order to classify it such as an ordinary clinical practice, or otherwise as an extraordinary clinical practice or as experimental research. ...

Brain death and the persistent vegetative state (PVS) share the following features: 1.) There is death of neurons in the brain; 2.) Both require an etiology which is capable of causing neuronal death. 3.) The potential for cognition is totally and permanently lost; 4.) Intensive medical support is usually withdrawn. In contrast, the diagnosis of brain death depends on death of the brainstem, wh...