Table 1.
Overview of included studies.
| References | Design | Patients | Etiology | rTMS protocol | Stimulation target | Adverse effects recorded | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bai et al. (32) | Case report | MCS | 1 | Stroke/ICH | 1 | 20 sessions, 10 Hz rTMS (90% RMT) | Left DLPFC | None |
| He et al. (30) | Randomized, sham-controlled crossover study | MCS PVS |
1 3 |
Anoxic | 1 | 5 sessions, 20 Hz rTMS (100% RMT) 5 sessions, sham rTMS with 1-week washout |
Left M1 | – |
| Stroke/ICH | 1 | |||||||
| TBI | 2 | |||||||
| Jang et al. (33) | Case report | PVS | 1 | Stroke/ICH | 1 | Approximately 121 sessions, 10 Hz rTMS (80% RMT) over 2 months | Right DLPFC | – |
| Legostaeva et al. (34) | Case series | MCS PVS |
22 16 |
Anoxic | 26 | 10 sessions, 20 Hz rTMS (80% RMT; 2 pts: 40% MO) over 2 weeks | Left angular gyrus | None |
| TBI | 12 | |||||||
| Lin et al. (35) | Case report | MCS | 1 | Stroke/ICH | 1 | 14 sessions, 1.5 mA tDCS and 5 Hz rTMS (70% RMT) over 2 weeks | Bilateral inferior parietal lobe | None |
| Liu et al. (36) | Randomized, sham-controlled crossover study | MCS PVS |
5 2 |
Anoxic | 4 | 1 session, 20 Hz rTMS (100% RMT) 1 session, sham rTMS with 48-h washout |
Left M1 | None |
| Stroke/ICH | 1 | |||||||
| TBI | 2 | |||||||
| Liu et al. (24) | Randomized, sham-controlled crossover study | MCSPVS | 5 2 |
Anoxic | 1 | 5 sessions, 20 Hz rTMS (100% RMT) 5 sessions, sham TMS with 1-week washout |
Left M1 | None |
| Stroke/ICH | 1 | |||||||
| TBI | 5 | |||||||
| Manganotti et al. (37) | Case series | MCSPVS | 2 3 |
TBI | 3 | 1 session, 20 Hz rTMS (120% RMT) | Left/right M1 | None |
| Stroke/ICH | 2 | |||||||
| Naro et al. (31) | Case-Control with sham crossover in responders | UWS | 10 | Anoxic | 10 | 1 session, 10 Hz rTMS (90% RMT) 1 session, sham TMS with 1-week washout* |
DLPFC | None |
| Xia et al. (38) | Prospective single-blinded study | MCS UWS |
5 11 |
Anoxia | 5 | 20 sessions, 10 Hz rTMS (90% RMT) | Left DLPFC | None |
| Stroke/ICH | 9 | |||||||
| TBI | 2 | |||||||
*
Naro et al. (31) conducted sham TMS only in the 3 patients demonstrating response to real rTMS.
CRS-R, Coma Recovery Scale-Revised; DLPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; DoC, Disorder of Consciousness; ICH, intracranial hemorrhage; M1, primary motor cortex; MCS, minimally conscious state; MO, machine output; PVS, persistent vegetative state; RMT, resting motor threshold; rTMS, repetitive TMS; TBI, traumatic brain injury; tDCS, transcranial direct current stimulation; TMS, transcranial magnetic stimulation; UWS, unresponsive wakefulness syndrome.