Affiliations: [a] Concussion Care Center of Virginia, Inc., Ltd., Tree of Life Services, Inc., Pinnacle Rehabilitation, Inc., Glen Allen, VA, USA | [b] Clinical Associate Professor, Physical Medical and Rehabilitation, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA | [x] Department of Neurosciences, Ospedale “Santa Maria della Misericordia”, Udine, Italy | [y] Concussion Care Center of Virginia, Inc., Ltd., Tree of Life Services, Inc., Pinnacle Rehabilitation, Inc., Glen Allen, VA, USA
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Nathan Zasler, M.D., Concussion Care Centre of Virginia, 10120 West Broad Street, Suite G, Glen Allen, VA 23060, USA. E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Over the past 30 years, there has been an ongoing evolution in the nomenclature used to describe individuals in low-level neurological states. The appropriateness of historically well-entrenched nomenclature germane to persons in low level neurological states following brain injury continues to be debated. The effort to develop a cross disciplinary uniform set of descriptive terms for individuals in such states has continued to evolve as efforts for interdisciplinary collaborative consensus and guideline development has continued to make progress over the last decade. The intent of this article is to provide clinicians with a better understanding of some of the history behind the nomenclature, as well as, some ongoing controversies, caveats and conundrums that face us as health care professionals as related to the development of a rationale, uniform nomenclature for this special population of neurological patients.
Keywords: nomenclature, coma, vegetative state, minimally conscious state
