The difficulties of behavioral evaluation of prolonged disorders of consciousness (DOC) motivate the development of brain-based diagnostic approaches. The perturbational complexity index (PCI), which measures the complexity of electroencephalographic (EEG) responses to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), showed a remarkable sensitivity in detecting minimal signs of consciousness in previous studies. Here, we tested the reliability of PCI in an independently collected sample of 24 severely brain-injured patients, including 11 unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS), 12 minimally conscious state (MCS) patients, and 1 emergence from MCS patient. We found that the individual maximum PCI value across stimulation sites fell within the consciousness range (i.e., was higher than PCI*, which is an empirical cutoff previously validated on a benchmark population) in 11 MCS patients, yielding a sensitivity of 92% that surpassed qualitative evaluation of resting EEG. Most UWS patients (n = 7, 64%) showed a slow and stereotypical TMS-EEG response, associated with low-complexity PCI values (i.e., ≤PCI*). Four UWS patients (36%) provided high-complexity PCI values, which might suggest a covert capacity for consciousness. In conclusion, this study successfully replicated the performance of PCI in discriminating between UWS and MCS patients, further motivating the application of TMS-EEG in the workflow of DOC evaluation.

Background: Navigated repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a promising tool for neuromodulation. In previous studies it has been shown that the activity of the default mode network (DMN) areas, particularly of its key region—the angular gyrus—is positively correlated with the level of consciousness. Our study aimed to explore the effect of rTMS of the angular gyrus as a new approach for disorders of consciousness (DOC) treatment; Methods: A 10-session 2-week high-frequency rTMS protocol was delivered over the left angular gyrus in 38 DOC patients with repeated neurobehavioral assessments obtained at baseline and in 2 days after the stimulation course was complete; Results: 20 Hz-rTMS over left angular gyrus improved the coma recovery scale revised (CRS-R) total score in minimally conscious state (MCS) patients. We observed no effects in vegetative state (VS) patients; and Conclusions: The left angular gyrus is likely to be effective target for rTMS in patients with present signs of consciousness.

After discharge from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), more than 50 % of patients experience pathological symptoms that are not related to the primary emergency but reduce the quality of life and require rehabilitation. Post Intensive Care Syndrome (PIСS) include only those conditions that do not have a direct causal relationship with the emergency condition that gave rise to hospitalization in the ICU. The pathophysiological basis of the PICS is the phenomenon of “learned non-use”: a state of artificial limitation of the patient’s motor and cognitive activity as a result of the use of analgosedation, bed rest and immobilization. The clinical picture of PICS is determined by the severity of its individual components, detailed using a package of clinimetric scales. Based on the results of dynamic testing, the PICS severity index is calculated. The sum of the scores in the range from 0 to 10 reflects the severity and effectiveness of rehabilitation measures. For the prevention of PICS, the Union of Rehabilitologists of Russia together with the Federation of Anesthesiologists and Resuscitators of Russia has developed the rehabilitation complex “ReabICU”. In the English-language literature, such a complex is called “Awakening and Breathing Coordination, Delirium monitoring/management, and Early exercise/mobility” bundle. ReabICU is a complex of technologically therapeutic and diagnostic modules “positioning and mobilization”, “prevention of dysphagia and nutritional deficiency”, “prevention of emotional and cognitive impairment and delirium”, “prevention of loss of self-care skills”. The basis of the multidisciplinary rehabilitation team, which includes a doctor for medical rehabilitation, 2 specialists in physical rehabilitation, a specialist in occupation therapy, a medical psychologist, a medical speech therapist, a nurse for medical rehabilitation. The activity of multidisciplinary rehabilitation team is evaluated on the basis of quality criteria and the achievement of the main goal of ReabICU — the preservation of the premorbid status of the patient’s socialization.

Безопасность транскраниальной магнитной стимуляции: обзор международных рекомендаций и новые данные

Differential diagnosis of unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) and minimally conscious state (MCS) is one of the most challenging problems for specialists who deal with chronic disorders of consciousness (DOC). The aim of the current study was to develop a conventional MRI-based scale and to evaluate its role in distinguishing chronic disorders of consciousness (Disorders of Consciousness MRI-based Distinguishing Scale, DOC-MRIDS). Data were acquired from 30 patients with clinically diagnosed chronic disorders of consciousness. All patients underwent conventional MRI using a Siemens Verio 3.0 T scanner, which included T2 and T1 sequences for patient assessment. Diffuse cortical atrophy, ventricular enlargement, sulcal widening, leukoaraiosis, brainstem and/or thalamus degeneration, corpus callosum degeneration, and corpus callosum lesions were assessed according to DOC-MRIDS criteria, with a total score calculation. The ROC-analysis showed that a reasonable threshold DOC-MRIDS total score was 5.5, that is, patients with DOC-MRIDS total score of 6 and above were classified as UWS and 5 and below as MCS, with sensitivity of 82.4% and specificity of 92.3%. The novel structural MRI-based scale for the assessment of typical brain lesions in patients with chronic DOC is relatively easy to apply, and provides good specificity and sensitivity values for discrimination between UWS and MCS.

Background. Objectivization of the characteristics of neuropathic pain is an important component of differential diagnosis in various diseases. Scales and questionnaires are topical diagnostic tools for assessing subjective symptoms for patients and health professionals.Objective to development and validation of the Russian version of the the Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs Pain Scale (LANSS).Materials and methods. The study included two stages: linguocultural ratification and assessment of the psychometric properties of the developed Russian version.Results. The study showed a high level of reliability, validity and sensitivity of the developed Russian-language version of the scale. Conclusion. By the results of the study, the official validated Russian-language version of the scale is presented and recommended for use in work with Russian-speaking patients.