. 2024 Jan 10;6(1):e000584. doi: 10.1136/bmjno-2023-000584

Table 1.

Disorder of consciousness

Disorder of consciousness	Definition
Coma^{67 68}	A state of profound unawareness, unresponsive to arousal, with an absent normal sleep-wake cycle. Typically lasts a few days to 3 weeks postacute brain injury.
Vegetative state/unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (VS/UWS)⁶⁹	A state of wakefulness without awareness, where patients may open their eyes but exhibit only reflex behaviours.
Minimally conscious state (MCS)^{4 5}	A state where the patients may exhibit inconsistent yet reproducible non-reflex behaviours in response to environmental stimuli. Patients are classified as MCS if they show signs such as pain localisation, visual fixation/tracking, appropriate emotional expressions (MCS minus), or if they can follow commands (MCS plus).
Emergence from MCS (eMCS)⁷⁰	A state characterised by the recovery of functional communication (eg, the ability to answer yes/no questions) and/or the use of objects (correctly using at least two different everyday objects).