Theme	Question
Definitions
Persistent vegetative state (PVS)	How would you define PVS?
Minimally conscious state (MCS)	How would you define MCS?
Comparison between the two conditions	What are the main differences between the two conditions?
Main clinical decisions in adult patients
PVS	Which are the main clinical decisions when managing adult patients in PVS?
MCS	Which are the main clinical decisions when managing adult patients in MCS?
Main clinical decisions in pediatric patients
PVS	Which are the main clinical decisions when managing pediatric patients in PVS?
MCS	Which are the main clinical decisions when managing pediatric patients in MCS?
Criteria for decision‐making	Why do you think different clinical decisions are made in similar clinical situations, but in different hospitals or departments? Are there guidelines for clinical decision‐making with PVS and MCS adult/pediatric patients in your hospital (or in other hospitals in which you worked)? If so, what role do they play in your decision‐making process? Can you think of factors that play a role during your decision‐making process and that challenge such guidelines?
Quality of life/health status	What do you take into consideration when evaluating the child's/adolescent's quality of life prior to the trauma/event? What role does the initial health status of the child/adolescent play in your evaluation of his/her quality of life prior to the trauma/event? How would you define the quality of life of a child/adolescent in PVS/MCS from birth?
Etiology	What role does etiology play on your decision‐making, compared to prognosis? Think about different etiologies; what difference does it make if the patient had traumatic or nontraumatic (hypoxia) brain injuries from birth?
Diagnosis	What role does diagnosis play on your decision‐making, compared to prognosis?
Prognosis	What do you take into account when making a prognosis?
Treatment	What do you consider to be an “aggressive treatment”? How do different treatments affect PVS/MCS patients' quality of life? When deciding on treatment, would it make a difference whether the child/adolescent has been in PVS/MCS since birth? If so, how?
Role of family members	Think about the role of PVS patients' family members on your clinical decision‐making process; what comes to your mind? Think about the role of MCS patients' family members on your clinical decision‐making process; what comes to your mind?
Distributive justice	Do you do anything to ensure that management/treatment costs are equally distributed? If so, what?
Autonomy	What do you think is the best way to respect the autonomy of a child/adolescent in PVS? What do you do? What do you think is the best way to respect the autonomy of a child/adolescent in MCS? What do you do? Who should be the guardian of this autonomy? Who, in fact, is?