1.
Koehler, PJ, Wijdicks, EF. Historical study of coma: looking back through medical and neurological texts. Brain. 2008; 131(Pt 3):877–89.
2.
Moruzzi, G, Magoun, HW. Brain stem reticular formation and activation of the EEG. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1949; 1(4):455–73.
3.
Bernat, JL. Chronic disorders of consciousness. Lancet. 2006; 367 (9517):1181–92.
4.
Posner, JB, Saper, CB, Schiff, ND, Plum, Plum F. and Posner’s diagnosis of stupor and coma. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2007.
5.
Bernat, JL. Ethical issues in neurology. 3rd ed. Philadephia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; 2008.
6.
Shiel, A, Gelling, L, Wilson, B, Coleman, M, Pickard, JD. Difficulties in diagnosing the vegetative state. Br J Neurosurg. 2004; 18(1):5–7.
7.
Bernat, JL. Chronic consciousness disorders. Annu Rev Med. 2009; 60:381–92.
8.
Laureys, S, Owen, AM, Schiff, ND. Brain function in coma, vegetative state, and related disorders. Lancet Neurol. 2004; 3(9):537–46.
9.
Cartlidge, N. States related to or confused with coma. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2001; 71 Suppl 1: i18–9.
10.
Canadian Medical Association. Guidelines for the diagnosis of brain death. CMAJ. 1987; 136(2):200A-B.
11.
Patel, YC, Ezzat, S, Chik, CL, et al. Guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of acromegaly: a Canadian perspective. Clin Invest Med. 2000; 23(3):172–87.
12.
Lazar, NM, Shemie, SD, Webster, GC, Dickens, BM. Bioethics for clinicians: 24. Brain death. CMAJ. 2001; 164(6):833–6.
13.
Shemie, SD, Doig, C, Dickens, B, et al. Severe brain injury to neurological determination of death: Canadian forum recommendations. CMAJ. 2006; 174(6):S1–13.
14.
Barrington Research Group Inc. for the Summative Evaluation Steering of the Committee: Canadian Council for Donation and Transplantation. Canadian Council for Donation and Transplantation (CCDT) summative evaluation final report. Calgary: Canadian Council for Donation and Transplantation; 2006.
15.
Rocker, GM, Cook, DJ, Shemie, SD. Practice variation in end of life care in the ICU: implications for patients with severe brain injury. Can J Anaesth. 2006; 53(8):814–9.
16.
Hornby, K, Shemie, SD, Teitelbaum, J, Doig, C. Variability in hospital-based brain death guidelines in Canada. Can J Anaesth. 2006; 53(6):613–9.
17.
Doig, CJ, Young, K, Teitelbaum, J, Shemie, SD. Brief survey: determining brain death in Canadian intensive care units. Can J Anaesth. 2006; 53(6):609–12.
18.
Powner, DJ, Hernandez, M, Rives, TE. Variability among hospital policies for determining brain death in adults. Crit Care Med. 2004; 32(6):1284–8.
19.
Greer, DM, Varelas, PN, Haque, S, Wijdicks, EF. Variability of brain death determination guidelines in leading US neurologic institutions. Neurology. 2008; 70(4):284–9.
20.
Giacino, JT, Ashwal, S, Childs, N, et al. The minimally conscious state: definition and diagnostic criteria. Neurology. 2002;58(3):349–53.
21.
Stevens, RD, Bhardwaj, A. Approach to the comatose patient. Crit Care Med. 2006; 34(1):31–41.
22.
The Multi-Society Task Force on PVS. Medical aspects of the persistent vegetative state (1). N Engl J Med. 1994;330(21):1499–508.
23.
Bates, D. The prognosis of medical coma. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry
2001;71 Suppl 1:3.
24.
Jennett, B, Plum, F. Persistent vegetative state after brain damage. A syndrome in search of a name. Lancet. 1972;1(7753):734–7.
25.
Zeman, A. Persistent vegetative state. Lancet. 1997;350(9080):795–9.
26.
Jennett, B. The vegetative state: medical facts, ethical and legal dilemmas. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2002.
27.
American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Recommendations for use of uniform nomenclature pertinent to patients with severe alterations in consciousness. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1995;76(2):205–9.
28.
The Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology. Practice parameters: assessment and management of patients in the persistent vegetative state (summary statement). Neurology. 1995;45(5):1015–8.
29.
Andrews, K. International Working Party on the management of the vegetative state: summary report. Brain Inj. 1996;10(11):797–806.
30.
Royal College of Physicians. The vegetative state: guidance on diagnosis and management. London: Royal College of Physicians; 2003.
31.
National Health and Medical Research Council. Post-coma unresponsiveness and minimally responsive state: a guide for families and carers of people with profound brain damage. Canberra: Government of Australia; 2008. p. 31.
32.
Laureys, S. Science and society: death, unconsciousness and the brain. Nat Rev Neurosci. 2005;6(11):899–909.
33.
Fins, JJ, Illes, J, Bernat, JL, Hirsch, J, Laureys, S, Murphy, E. Neuroimaging and disorders of consciousness: envisioning an ethical research agenda. Am J Bioeth. 2008;8(9):3–12.
34.
Coleman, MR, Rodd, JM, Davis, MH, et al. Do vegetative patients retain aspects of language comprehension? Evidence from fMRI. Brain. 2007;130(Pt 10):2494–507.
35.
Owen, AM, Coleman, MR, Boly, M, Davis, MH, Laureys, S, Pickard, JD. Detecting awareness in the vegetative state. Science. 2006;313(5792):1402.
36.
Giacino, J, Whyte, J. The vegetative and minimally conscious states: current knowledge and remaining questions. J Head Trauma Rehabil. 2005;20(1):30–50.
37.
Laureys, S, Boly, M. What is it like to be vegetative or minimally conscious?
Curr Opin Neurol. 2007;20(6):609–13.
38.
Stepan, C, Haidinger, G, Binder, H. Prevalence of persistent vegetative state/apallic syndrome in Vienna. Eur J Neurol. 2004;11(7):461–6.
39.
Childs, NL, Mercer, WN, Childs, HW. Accuracy of diagnosis of persistent vegetative state. Neurology. 1993;43(8):1465–7.
40.
Andrews, K, Murphy, L, Munday, R, Littlewood, C. Misdiagnosis of the vegetative state: retrospective study in a rehabilitation unit. BMJ. 1996;313(7048):13–6.
41.
Schnakers, C, Vanhaudenhuyse, A, Giacino, J, et al. Diagnostic accuracy of the vegetative and minimally conscious state: clinical consensus versus standardized neurobehavioral assessment. BMC Neurol. 2009;9:35.
42.
Gill-Thwaites, H. Lotteries, loopholes and luck: misdiagnosis in the vegetative state patient. Brain Inj. 2006;20(13–14):1321–8.
43.
Youngner, SJ, Landefeld, CS, Coulton, CJ, Juknialis, BW, Leary, M. Brain death and organ retrieval. A cross-sectional survey of knowledge and concepts among health professionals. JAMA. 1989;261(15):2205–10.
44.
Tomlinson, T. Misunderstanding death on a respirator. Bioethics. 1990;4(3):253–64.
45.
Young, B, Blume, W, Lynch, A. Brain death and the persistent vegetative state: similarities and contrasts. Can J Neurol Sci. 1989;16(4):388–93.
46.
Montagnino, BA, Ethier, AM. The experiences of pediatric nurses caring for children in a persistent vegetative state. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2007;8(5):440–6.
47.
Bell, TN. Nurses’ attitudes in caring for the comatose head-injured patient. J Neurosci Nurs. 1986;18(5):279–89.
48.
Kalmar, K, Giacino, JT. The JFK coma recovery scale-revised. Neuropsychol Rehabil. 2005;15(3–4):454–60.
49.
Crossman, J, Bankes, M, Bhan, A, Crockard, HA. The Glasgow coma score: reliable evidence?
Injury. 1998;29(6):435–7.
50.
Buechler, CM, Blostein, PA, Koestner, A, Hurt, K, Schaars, M, McKernan, J. Variation among trauma centers’ calculation of Glasgow coma scale score: results of a national survey. J Trauma. 1998;45(3):429–32.
51.
Shanteau, J, Linin, K. Subjective meaning of terms used in organ donation: analysis of word associations. In: Shanteau, J, Harris, R, editors. Organ donation and transplantation: psychological and behavioral factors. Washington: American Psychological Association; 1990. p. 37–49.
52.
Siminoff, LA, Burant, C, Youngner, SJ. Death and organ procurement: public beliefs and attitudes. Kennedy Inst Ethics J. 2004;14(3):217–34.
53.
Wijdicks, EF, Wijdicks, CA. The portrayal of coma in contemporary motion pictures. Neurology. 2006;66(9):1300–3.
54.
Wijdicks, EF, Wijdicks, MF. Coverage of coma in headlines of US newspapers from 2001 through 2005. Mayo Clin Proc. 2006;81 (10):1332–6.
55.
Racine, E, Amaram, R, Seidler, M, Karczewska, M, Illes, J. Media coverage of the persistent vegetative state and end-of-life decision-making. Neurology. 2008;71(13):1027–32.
56.
Macdonald, ME, Liben, S, Carnevale, FA, Cohen, SR. Signs of life and signs of death: brain death and other mixed messages at the end of life. J Child Health Care. 2008;12(2):92–105.
57.
Gofton, TE, Chouinard, PA, Young, GB, et al. Functional MRI study of the primary somatosensory cortex in comatose survivors of cardiac arrest. Exp Neurol. 2009;217(2):320–7.
58.
Monti, MM, Vanhaudenhuyse, A, Coleman, MR, et al. Willful modulation of brain activity in disorders of consciousness. N Engl J Med. 362(7):579–89.
59.
Racine, E, Bell, E. Clinical and public translation of neuroimaging research in disorders of consciousness challenges current diagnostic and public understanding paradigms. Am J Bioeth. 2008;8(9):13–5; discussion W1–3.
60.
Schiff, ND, Giacino, JT, Kalmar, K, et al. Behavioural improvements with thalamic stimulation after severe traumatic brain injury. Nature. 2007;448(7153):600–3.
61.
Machado, C, Rodriguez, R, Carballo, M, Perez, J, Korein, J. Results of proton MRS studies in PVS and MCS patients. Can J Neurol Sci. 2009;36(3):365–9.
62.
Tshibanda, L, Vanhaudenhuyse, A, Galanaud, D, Boly, M, Laureys, S, Puybasset, L. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy and diffusion tensor imaging in coma survivors: promises and pitfalls. Prog Brain Res. 2009;177:215–29.
63.
Yuan, W, Holland, SK, Schmithorst, VJ, et al. Diffusion tensor MR imaging reveals persistent white matter alteration after traumatic brain injury experienced during early childhood. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2007;28(10):1919–25.
64.
Huisman, TA, Schwamm, LH, Schaefer, PW, et al. Diffusion tensor imaging as potential biomarker of white matter injury in diffuse axonal injury. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol. 2004;25(3):370–6.
65.
Voss, HU, Uluc, AM, Dyke, JP, et al. Possible axonal regrowth in late recovery from the minimally conscious state. J Clin Invest. 2006;116(7):2005–11.
66.
Lombardi, F, Taricco, M, De Tanti, A, Telaro, E, Liberati, A. Sensory stimulation of brain-injured individuals in coma or vegetative state: results of a Cochrane systematic review. Clin Rehabil. 2002;16(5):464–72.
67.
Schiff, ND. Modeling the minimally conscious state: measurements of brain function and therapeutic possibilities. Prog Brain Res. 2005;150:473–93.
68.
Whyte, J, Katz, D, Long, D, et al. Predictors of outcome in prolonged posttraumatic disorders of consciousness and assessment of medication effects: a multicenter study. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2005;86(3):453–62.
69.
Brefel-Courbon, C, Payoux, P, Ory, F, et al. Clinical and imaging evidence of zolpidem effect in hypoxic encephalopathy. Ann Neurol. 2007;62(1):102–5.
70.
Canadian Medical Association. Advance directives for resuscitation and other life-saving or sustaining measures. CMAJ. 1992;146(6):1072A–B.
71.
Roy, DJ, Williams, JR, Dickens, BM. Bioethics in Canada. Scarborough, ON: Prentice Hall Canada; 1994.
73.
Rocker, G, Dunbar, S. Withholding or withdrawal of life support: the Canadian Critical Care Society position paper. J Palliat Care. 2000;16 Suppl:S53–62.
74.
Singer, PA, Robertson, G, Roy, DJ. Bioethics for clinicians: 6. Advance care planning. CMAJ. 1996;155(12):1689–92.
75.
Godlovitch, G, Mitchell, I, Doig, CJ. Discontinuing life support in comatose patients: an example from Canadian case law. CMAJ. 2005;172(9):1172–3.
76.
Thompson, T, Barbour, R, Scwartz, L. Adherence to advance directives in critical care decision making: a vignette study. Br Med J. 2003;327:1–7.
77.
Racine, E, Dion, MJ, Wijman, CA, Illes, J, Lansberg, MG. Profiles of neurological outcome prediction among intensivists. Neurocrit Care. 2009;11(3):345–52.
79.
Eisenberg, JB. Schiavo on the cutting edge: functional brain imaging and its impact on surrogate end-of-life decision-making. Neuroethics. 2008;1(2):75–83.
80.
Beauchamp, T, Childress, J. Principles of biomedical ethics. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2001.
81.
Fins, JJ. Clinical pragmatism and the care of brain damaged patients : toward a palliative neuroethics for disorders of consciousness. Prog Brain Res. 2005;150:565–82.
82.
Miller, FG, Fins, JJ. Protecting human subjects in brain research: a pragmatic perspective. In: Illes, J, editor. Neuroethics: defining the issues in theory, practice, and policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2006. p. 123“40.
83.
Lennard-Jones, JE. Ethical and legal aspects of clinical hydration and nutritional support. BJU Int. 2000;85(4):398–403.
84.
Bacon, D, Williams, MA, Gordon, J. Position statement on laws and regulations concerning life-sustaining treatment, including artificial nutrition and hydration, for patients lacking decision-making capacity. Neurology. 2007;68(14):1097–100
85.
American Academy of Neurology. Position of the American Academy of Neurology on certain aspects of the care and management of the persistent vegetative state patient. Neurology. 1989;39(1):125–6.
86.
Pence, GE. Comas: Karen Quinlan and Nancy Cruzan. Classic cases on medical ethics. Boston: McGraw-Hill; 2004. p. 29–57.
87.
Perry, JE, Churchill, LR, Kirshner, HS. The Terri Schiavo case: legal, ethical, and medical perspectives. Ann Intern Med. 2005;143(10):744–8.
88.
Striano, P, Bifulco, F, Servillo, G. The saga of Eluana Englaro: another tragedy feeding the media. Intensive Care Med. 2009;35(6):1129–31.
91.
Sim, J. Ethical issues in the management of persistent vegetative state. Physiother Res Int. 1997;2(2):7–11.
92.
Phipps, E, Whyte, J. Medical decision-making with persons who are minimally conscious: a commentary. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 1999;78(1):77–82.
93.
Racine, E, Shevell, MI. Ethics in neonatal neurology: when is enough, enough?
Pediatr Neurol. 2009;40(3):147–55.
94.
The Multi-Society Task Force on PVS. Medical aspects of the persistent vegetative state (2). N Engl J Med. 1994;330(22): 1572–9.
95.
Wade, DT. Ethical issues in diagnosis and management of patients in the permanent vegetative state. BMJ. 2001;322(7282):352–4.
96.
Jonsen, AR, Siegler, M, Winslade, WT. Clinical ethics: a practical approach to ethical decision in clinical medicine. 4th ed. New York: McGraw Hill; 1998.
97.
Fins, JJ. Rethinking disorders of consciousness: new research and its implications. Hastings Cent Rep. 2005;35(2):22–4.