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Contact the study team using the details below to take part. If there are no contact details below please ask your doctor in the first instance.
Injuries to the head
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Each day, ten individuals across the United Kingdom enter a coma as a result of a blow to the head (also known as a traumatic brain injury, or TBI). Patients in coma are unresponsive to external stimulation and breathe with support from a mechanical ventilator. A significant proportion of coma survivors will develop a prolonged disorder of consciousness (PDOC), such as the vegetative state, in which they appear to be awake but show no signs of being aware of themselves or of their environments. However, if a patient with a PDOC is able to move in response to verbal commands (e.g. “Give me a thumbs-up”) they are considered to be at least minimally conscious. Once this ability has been identified, rehabilitation can focus on training the individual to use this action to communicate (e.g. “Thumbs-up for yes”).
More accurate methods for predicting the level of recovery after coma are required. Electroencephalography, or EEG, is a portable form of brain-imaging that records the tiny electrical signals generated by the brain via a series of electrodes placed on the scalp. By measuring the brain’s response to external stimuli, it may be possible to improve the accuracy of prognosis in coma (i.e. predicted level of recovery).
We will test the predictive power of EEG responses to speech in a group of post-traumatic patients recovering from coma who do not immediately regain consciousness after withdrawal of sedation. During the year after this assessment, we will determine each patient’s level of recovery through interviews and, in some cases, a further EEG assessment and multiple behavioural assessments. The more accurate methods of prognosis that come from this research will result in more appropriate provision of limited rehabilitation resources post-coma, thereby reducing healthcare costs. This research is funded by the UK Medical Research Council (MRC).
Start dates may differ between countries and research sites. The research team are responsible for keeping the information up-to-date.
The recruitment start and end dates are as follows:
Observational type: Cohort study;
You can take part if:
You may not be able to take part if:
The presence of any of the following will preclude participant inclusion: 1. Moribund (e.g. sustained raised intracranial pressure / multi-organ failure) 2. History of moderate or severe traumatic brain injury or neurological disorder 3. Not an English-speaker (ascertained from consultees) as hypotheses relate to processing of English speech stimuli. 4. CT evidence of brainstem-only lesion (i.e. suspected locked-in syndrome) 5. CT evidence of focal left lateral temporal lobe lesion (i.e. suspected specific language impairment / aphasia) 6. Participants with known hearing impairments (e.g. those who require hearing aids) Participants who regain awareness between recruitment and time of initial EEG will be withdrawn from the study as they will no longer be in the group of interest at the time of initial EEG data collection (i.e. unclear level of awareness).
Below are the locations for where you can take part in the trial. Please note that not all sites may be open.
The study is sponsored by University of Birmingham and funded by Medical Research Council (MRC) .
Your feedback is important to us. It will help us improve the quality of the study information on this site. Please answer both questions.
Read full details
for Trial ID: CPMS 35707
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