title: The Coma Exit Chart: assessing the patient in prolonged coma and the vegetative state.
abstract: The patient who remains in prolonged coma or in the vegetative state presents major problems in medicine, ethics and resource economics. Diagnosis and decision making are often difficult. A Coma Exit Chart can be developed using the parameters of the Glasgow Coma Scale to measure the exiting of the patient from prolonged coma or the vegetative state.
authors.affiliation: National Brain Injury Foundation, Canberra, Australia.
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Freeman
mesh_terms: D001364:Awareness; D001926:Brain Death / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003128:Coma / Q000145:classification* / Q000523:psychology; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005066:Euthanasia, Passive; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006801:Humans; D008020:Life Support Care; D010348:Patient Care Team