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Abstract
Covert consciousness is a state of residual awareness following severe brain injury or neurological disorder that evades routine bedside behavioral detection. Patients with covert consciousness have preserved awareness but are incapable of self-expression through ordinary means of behavior or communication. Growing recognition of the limitations of bedside neurobehavioral examination in reliably detecting consciousness, along with advances in neurotechnologies capable of detecting brain states or subtle signs indicative of consciousness not discernible by routine examination, carry promise to transform approaches to classifying, diagnosing, prognosticating and treating disorders of consciousness. Here we describe and critically evaluate the evolving clinical category of covert consciousness, including approaches to its diagnosis through neuroimaging, electrophysiology, and novel behavioral tools, its prognostic relevance, and open questions pertaining to optimal clinical management of patients with covert consciousness recovering from severe brain injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J. Young
- Department of Neurology, Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Brian L. Edlow
- Department of Neurology, Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Yelena G. Bodien
- Department of Neurology, Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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Quah ELY, Chua KZY, Lin CKR, Vijayan AV, Abdul Hamid NAB, Owyong JLJ, Satku N, Woong N, Lim C, Phua GLG, Ong EK, Fong W, Krishna LKR. The role of patients' stories in medicine: a systematic scoping review. BMC Palliat Care 2023; 22:199. [PMID: 38087237 PMCID: PMC10714554 DOI: 10.1186/s12904-023-01319-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Patients' stories provide Palliative Care physicians with a glimpse into the former's lives and their psycho-emotional, sociocultural, and contextual considerations. Yet, few physicians are trained to interpret and apply patients' stories in their practice. Inherent variability in how stories are transmitted and interpreted raises questions over their potential effects on care. Amidst a dearth of accounts in Palliative Care, we map current use of patient stories to guide the training, assessment, and oversight of this 'care influencing' practice in medicine. METHODS This systematic scoping review was guided by the Systematic Evidence-Based Approach (SEBA) to ensure a reproducible and structured approach. The themes and categories identified through the Split Approach's concurrent and independent thematic and directed content analyses provided a comprehensive sketch of the included articles. The Jigsaw Perspective combined the themes and categories identified. The last stage of SEBA compared these results with two recent reviews of storytelling to ensure consistency of the domains created that guided the discussion. RESULTS Ten thousand two hundred seven articles were reviewed, 963 full text articles were evaluated, and 199 articles were included. The four domains identified were study characteristics, benefits, approaches, and positive effects and concerns. CONCLUSION Stories support patient-centered, personalized, and holistic clinical care. However, variability in the stories, their interpretations and use in care decisions underscore the need for further study on the structuring, teaching, assessing, and delivery of this 'care influencing' practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elaine Li Ying Quah
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Singapore, Level 11 NUHS Tower Block, 1E Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119228, Singapore
- Division of Supportive and Palliative Care, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 30 Hospital Boulevard, Singapore, 168583, Singapore
| | - Keith Zi Yuan Chua
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Singapore, Level 11 NUHS Tower Block, 1E Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119228, Singapore
- Division of Supportive and Palliative Care, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 30 Hospital Boulevard, Singapore, 168583, Singapore
| | - Casper Keegan Ronggui Lin
- Division of Supportive and Palliative Care, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 30 Hospital Boulevard, Singapore, 168583, Singapore
- Centre for Biomedical Ethics, National University of Singapore, Blk MD11, 10 Medical Drive, #02-03, Singapore, 117597, Singapore
- Division of Outpatient Pharmacy, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 30 Hospital Boulevard, Singapore, 168583, Singapore
- Division of Cancer Education, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 30 Hospital Boulevard, Singapore, 168583, Singapore
| | - Andrew Vimal Vijayan
- Division of Cancer Education, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 30 Hospital Boulevard, Singapore, 168583, Singapore
| | - Nur Amira Binte Abdul Hamid
- Division of Cancer Education, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 30 Hospital Boulevard, Singapore, 168583, Singapore
| | - Jasmine Lerk Juan Owyong
- Division of Cancer Education, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 30 Hospital Boulevard, Singapore, 168583, Singapore
| | - Neeta Satku
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Singapore, Level 11 NUHS Tower Block, 1E Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119228, Singapore
- Centre for Biomedical Ethics, National University of Singapore, Blk MD11, 10 Medical Drive, #02-03, Singapore, 117597, Singapore
| | - Natalie Woong
- Department of Internal Medicine, Singapore General Hospital, Outram Road, Singapore, 169608, Singapore
| | - Crystal Lim
- Medical Social Services, Singapore General Hospital, Outram Road, Singapore, 169608, Singapore
| | - Gillian Li Gek Phua
- Division of Supportive and Palliative Care, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 30 Hospital Boulevard, Singapore, 168583, Singapore
- Lien Centre for Palliative Care, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, 8 College Road, Singapore, 169857, Singapore
- Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, 8 College Road, Singapore, 169857, Singapore
| | - Eng Koon Ong
- Division of Supportive and Palliative Care, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 30 Hospital Boulevard, Singapore, 168583, Singapore
- Division of Cancer Education, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 30 Hospital Boulevard, Singapore, 168583, Singapore
- Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, 8 College Road, Singapore, 169857, Singapore
- Assisi Hospice, 832 Thomson Road, Singapore, 574627, Singapore
| | - Warren Fong
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Singapore, Level 11 NUHS Tower Block, 1E Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119228, Singapore
- Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, 8 College Road, Singapore, 169857, Singapore
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Singapore General Hospital, 16 College Road, Block 6 Level 9, Singapore, 169854, Singapore
| | - Lalit Kumar Radha Krishna
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University Singapore, Level 11 NUHS Tower Block, 1E Kent Ridge Road, Singapore, 119228, Singapore.
- Division of Supportive and Palliative Care, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 30 Hospital Boulevard, Singapore, 168583, Singapore.
- Centre for Biomedical Ethics, National University of Singapore, Blk MD11, 10 Medical Drive, #02-03, Singapore, 117597, Singapore.
- Division of Cancer Education, National Cancer Centre Singapore, 30 Hospital Boulevard, Singapore, 168583, Singapore.
- Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, 8 College Road, Singapore, 169857, Singapore.
- Palliative Care Institute Liverpool, Academic Palliative & End of Life Care Centre, University of Liverpool, 200 London Rd, Liverpool, L3 9TA, UK.
- PalC, The Palliative Care Centre for Excellence in Research and Education, PalC C/O Dover Park Hospice, 10 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308436, Singapore.
- Health Data Science, University of Liverpool, Whelan Building The Quadrangle, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L69 3GB, UK.
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Young MJ, Bodien YG, Giacino JT, Fins JJ, Truog RD, Hochberg LR, Edlow BL. The neuroethics of disorders of consciousness: a brief history of evolving ideas. Brain 2021; 144:3291-3310. [PMID: 34347037 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awab290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 07/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroethical questions raised by recent advances in the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of consciousness are rapidly expanding, increasingly relevant, and yet underexplored. The aim of this thematic review is to provide a clinically applicable framework for understanding the current taxonomy of disorders of consciousness and to propose an approach to identifying and critically evaluating actionable neuroethical issues that are frequently encountered in research and clinical care for this vulnerable population. Increased awareness of these issues and clarity about opportunities for optimizing ethically-responsible care in this domain are especially timely given recent surges in critically ill patients with unusually prolonged disorders of consciousness associated with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) around the world. We begin with an overview of the field of neuroethics: what it is, its history and evolution in the context of biomedical ethics at large. We then explore nomenclature used in disorders of consciousness, covering categories proposed by the American Academy of Neurology, the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine, and the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, including definitions of terms such as coma, the vegetative state, unresponsive wakefulness syndrome, minimally conscious state, covert consciousness, and the confusional state. We discuss why these definitions matter, and why there has been such evolution in this nosology over the years, from Jennett and Plum in 1972 to the Multi-Society Task Force in 1994, the Aspen Working Group in 2002 and up until the 2018 American and 2020 European Disorders of Consciousness guidelines. We then move to a discussion of clinical aspects of disorders of consciousness, the natural history of recovery, and ethical issues that arise within the context of caring for persons with disorders of consciousness. We conclude with a discussion of key challenges associated with assessing residual consciousness in disorders of consciousness, potential solutions and future directions, including integration of crucial disability rights perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Young
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114,USA.,Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Yelena G Bodien
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114,USA.,Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | | | - Joseph J Fins
- Division of Medical Ethics, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10021, USA
| | - Robert D Truog
- Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Leigh R Hochberg
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114,USA.,School of Engineering and Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University, Providence, RI 02906, USA.,VA RR&D Center for Neurorestoration and Neurotechnology, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, RI 02908, USA
| | - Brian L Edlow
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114,USA.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
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Vanhoecke J, Hariz M. Deep brain stimulation for disorders of consciousness: Systematic review of cases and ethics. Brain Stimul 2017; 10:1013-1023. [PMID: 28966051 DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2017.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2017] [Revised: 07/24/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A treatment for patients suffering from prolonged severely altered consciousness is not available. The success of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) in diseases such as Parkinson's, dystonia and essential tremor provided a renewed impetus for its application in Disorders of Consciousness (DoC). OBJECTIVE To evaluate the rationale for DBS in patients with DoC, through systematic review of literature containing clinical data and ethical considerations. METHODS Articles from PubMed, Embase, Medline and Web of Science were systematically reviewed. RESULTS The outcomes of 78 individual patients reported in 19 articles from 1968 onwards were pooled and elements of ethical discussions were compared. There is no clear clinical evidence that DBS is a treatment for DoC that can restore both consciousness and the ability to communicate. In patients who benefitted, the outcome of DBS is often confounded by the time frame of spontaneous recovery from DoC. Difficult ethical considerations remain, such as the risk of increasing self-awareness of own limitations, without improving overall wellbeing, and the issues of proxy consent. CONCLUSION DBS is far from being evident as a possible future therapeutic avenue for patients with DoC. Double-blind studies are lacking, and many clinical and ethical issues have to be addressed. In the rare cases when DBS for patients with DoC is considered, this needs to be evaluated meticulously on a case by case basis, with comprehensive overall outcome measures including psychological and quality-of-life assessments, and with the guidance of an ethical and interdisciplinary panel, especially in relation to proxy consent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Vanhoecke
- Unit of Functional Neurosurgery, Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, WC1N 3BG, London, UK.
| | - Marwan Hariz
- Unit of Functional Neurosurgery, Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, WC1N 3BG, London, UK; Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Umeå University, SE-901 87, Umeå, Sweden.
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