Disorders of Consciousness Task Force

MISSION

To advance scientific knowledge, develop standards of practice, and advocate for the appropriate care of persons with disordered consciousness. Projects developed fall under the umbrellas of clinical, research, advocacy, and education about this patient group.

JOIN THE TASK FORCE

Thank you for being a part of the BI-ISIG Disorders of Consciousness Task Force! We love that the ACRM attracts the most passionate interdisciplinary mix of rehabilitation pros from around the world. What an honor to collaborate with such driven individuals. We hope to meet with you at our upcoming networking group meeting to discuss current projects and opportunities for contribution and collaboration.

ACRM BI-ISIG Disorders of Consciousness Task Force Meeting

Join us to discuss the 2024 ACRM Annual Conference, Task Force updates, and new projects. We welcome your participation.

Save the date!

DATE: The First Tuesday of Each Month
TIME: 12:00pm ET 

Meeting ID: 898 4048 4522
Passcode: 520235

We hope to see you there!

CO-CHAIRS

PAST CHAIR

COLLABORATING ORGANIZATIONS

NIDILRR, the VA TBI Model System DOC Special Interest Group members, and the International Brain Injury Association (IBIA) collaborate on task force projects and monthly telephone calls.

2022 GOALS

• Develop proposal to increase consumer engagement in DoC research translation
• Launch “Challenging Behaviors in Brain Injury” survey
• Complete scoping review on “Pathophysiology of the Post-traumatic Confusional State”

2021 ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Proposed partnership between ACRM and Brainline to house educational materials for families; received BI-ISIG grant for consumer review process
• Initiated collaboration with the Curing Coma Campaign to ensure rehabilitation perspectives are considered in the design of acute DoC studies
• Published Recovery of Consciousness and Functional Outcome in Moderate and Severe Traumatic Brain Injury in JAMA Neurology (Kowalski, et al)

PUBLICATIONS

Snider S, Kowalski R, Hammond F, Izzy Saef, Shih S, Rovito C, Edlow BL, Zafonte R, Giacino JT, Bodien YB. Comparison of common outcome measures for assessing independence in patients diagnosed with disorders of consciousness: A Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems study. J Neurotrauma. 2022; PMCID pending. In Press

Golden K, Erler KS, Wong J, Giacino JT, Bodien YG. Should consistent command-following be added to the criteria for emergence from the minimally conscious state? Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2022 Apr 6:S0003-9993(22)00294-5. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2022.03.010.

Weaver JA, Cogan A, O’Brien K, Hansen P, Giacino J, Whyte J, Bender Pape T, van der Wees P, Mallinson T. Determining the Hierarchy of Coma Recovery Scale-Revised Rating Scale Categories and Alignment with Aspen Consensus Criteria for Patients with Brain Injury: A Rasch Analysis. J Neurotrauma. 2022

CURRENT PROJECTS

Co-chairs, Risa Nakase Richardson and Yelena Bodien, are leading a team of DOC Task Force participants who contribute to multiple projects and present at various conferences throughout the year. Here are some of the upcoming highlights of their work.

In-Progress Projects

• BrainLine Family Education Website – completed content development
• Challenging Behaviors Survey – completed data collection
• Post-traumatic Confusional State (PTCS) Case Definition – completed abstract review, now abstracting article data
• A scoping review of the pathophysiology of the post-traumatic confusional state, led by Drs. Doug Katz, Mark Sherer and Yelena Bodien, is in the abstract review phase.
• A survey about clinical management of challenging behaviors after TBI, led by Dr. Tracy Kretzmer is under development and will be distributed in Fall 2021.
• Drs. Amy Rosenbaum, Susan Johnson and Brooke Murtaugh are leading an effort to provide a centralized, online location for patients and family DoC educational materials.
• Partnership with the American College of Surgeons to promote access to rehabilitation involving many task force members and other ACRM communities.

MSKTC Fact Sheet

Consumer Translation of the DoC Minimum Competency Recommendations (in progress)

The Facts About the Vegetative and Minimally Conscious States After Severe Brain Injury MSKTC Fact Sheet was updated in 2020 by John Whyte, MD, David Glazer, MD, Thomas Watanabe, MD, Joseph Giacino, PhD, and Amy Rosenbaum, PhD, in collaboration with the American Institutes for Research MSKTC.

An MSKTC Fact Sheet was developed by ACRM and TBIMS joint DOC members (led by Dr. Amy Rosenbaum) and is now available online (Severe Traumatic Brain Injury: What to Expect in the Trauma Center, Hospital, and Beyond).

An MSKTC Fact Sheet was developed by ACRM and TBIMS joint DOC members on Understanding Behavior Changes After TBI and is now available online (Understanding Behavior Changes after TBI | Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center (MSKTC)).

Recent & Upcoming Presentations of DOC Task Force Members

• NABIS/IPBIS CRS-R Course
• 8+ ACRM Annual Meeting presentations
• Convened NIDILRR-Sponsored DoC Think Tank
• Provided testimony to NASEM Committee resulting in TBI Roadmap Report
• DoC Sig members participating in TQIP Rehabilitation Recommendations Update
• American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation – Members of the DOC Task Force led instructional courses and presented multiple posters at the ACRM 2021 VIRTUAL Annual Conference.
• International Brain Injury Association of America – The DoC Clinical Management Guidelines, developed by Dr. Joe Giacino and other members of the DoC Task Force, were presented alongside recently published European and UK guidelines.
• North American Brain Injury Society Annual Conference –  DoC Task Force members will be conducting a pre-conference DoC course in 2022.