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Sensory stimulation to improve arousal in comatose patients after traumatic brain injury: a systematic review of the literature

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Abstract

Background

No standard rehabilitative treatment for coma arousal after traumatic brain injury (TBI) exists. Based on our clinical experience, we hypothesized that sensory stimulation (SS) is a promising protocol to improve outcomes in these patients.

Methods

We performed a literature review on the progress of sensory stimulation to enhance coma arousal after traumatic brain injury. We searched the databases on Medline, Embase, and Cochrane to gain access to relevant publications using the key words “traumatic brain injury,” “disorders of consciousness,” “sensory stimulation,” and “coma scale.”

Results

We included all original studies published in English with patients presenting severe disorders of consciousness due to traumatic brain injury who had received SS and whose behavioral/neural responses had been measured. We compared data on ten selected studies and analyzed the SS effects in comatose patient outcomes after TBI. Our review outlines the role of SS in patients with TBI and provides guidance for its implementation in the clinical practice.

Conclusions

The literature suggests the SS program improves coma arousal after TBI. However, high-quality clinical trials are needed to establish standard SS protocols.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurosurgery, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410008, Hunan, China

    Jing Li, Quan Cheng, Fang-Kun Liu, Zheng Huang & Song-Shan Feng

  2. Department of Rehabilitation, The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, 410011, Hunan, China

    Jing Li

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  1. Jing Li
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  2. Quan Cheng
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  3. Fang-Kun Liu
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  4. Zheng Huang
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Contributions

JL and SF had the idea for the article, all authors performed the literature search and data analysis, JL drafted the work, and SF critically revised the work.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Song-Shan Feng.

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Li, J., Cheng, Q., Liu, FK. et al. Sensory stimulation to improve arousal in comatose patients after traumatic brain injury: a systematic review of the literature. Neurol Sci 41, 2367–2376 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-020-04410-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10072-020-04410-9

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