Surrogate decision-making for people with disorders of consciousness: considering the control-preferences of informal caregivers before implementing multimodal testing.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Historically, individuals with disorders of consciousness (DoC) have often been subject to prognostic pessimism and therapeutic nihilism, leading to clinical decisions that became self-fulfilling prophecies. Recent advances in neurodiagnostics -particularly multimodal assessments of consciousness- offer new opportunities to reduce diagnostic ambiguity and to potentially improve rehabilitation outcomes. These developments have the potential to support more effective care planning. Given their central role in surrogate decision-making, informal caregivers are increasingly recognised as key participants in this evolving process. Yet, little is known about the distribution of their preferred roles in decision-making, especially in light of emerging, technology-informed model

SUBMITTER: Derchi CC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12865944 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature