Vegetative State

A vegetative state, now commonly termed unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS), is a disorder of consciousness in which wakefulness is preserved but there is no definite evidence of awareness of self or the environment. Patients may open their eyes, exhibit sleep–wake cycles, breathe spontaneously and retain autonomic and some brainstem reflex functions, but show no purposeful or reproducible conscious responses. It commonly follows severe traumatic brain injury or hypoxic–ischemic brain injury. Importantly, a vegetative state is not brain death—brainstem functions remain intact and careful repeated assessment is essential to distinguish it from coma and the minimally conscious state.