Horne Malcolm
Monash Bioeth Rev. 2009 Jun;28(2):12-1-12.
Recently, brain imaging has provided controversial evidence of persisting awareness in some people whose brains are so severely injured that consciousness is minimal or absent, but in whom prolongation of life depends on the provision of continuing medical care. The clinicians understanding of the persistent vegetative state is briefly outlined and the evidence provided by brain imaging of awareness in this condition is reviewed. Information regarding consciousness in progressive acquired dementias are considered in the context of management of these conditions. This leads to the conclusion that quality of consciousness was more important than its presence or absence in managing people with impaired consciousness.
最近，脑成像技术为一些大脑严重受损、意识极其微弱或缺失但维持生命依赖持续医疗护理的患者存在持续意识提供了有争议的证据。本文简要概述了临床医生对持续性植物状态的理解，并对脑成像技术提供的关于这种状态下存在意识的证据进行了综述。在这些疾病的管理背景下，考虑了与进行性后天性痴呆中意识相关的信息。由此得出结论，在管理意识受损的患者时，意识质量比其存在与否更为重要。
