Who gets to decide?: Substitute decision making following severe brain injury with communication impairment.

In our prior study (Malhi et al., 2021), we demonstrated that cognitive ability may be masked by communication impairments. We used binary choice (i.

Thinking without speaking: Neuropsychological testing with individuals who have communication impairments.

Cognitive ability may be masked by communication impairments. This study aimed to assess cognitive functioning using binary choice (i.e.

Sahaj Samadhi meditation vs a Health Enhancement Program in improving late-life depression severity and executive function: study protocol for a two-site, randomized controlled trial.

Background: Recent estimates suggest an 11% prevalence of current late-life depression (LLD) and a lifetime prevalence of 16-20%. LLD leads to cognitive disturbance as well as a nearly two to three times increased risk of dementia. We conducted a recent randomized controlled trial (RCT) which demonstrated that Sahaj Samadhi meditation (SSM), an easy-to-implement, meditation-based augmentation strategy, led to higher rates of symptom remission when compared to treatment as usual (40.

Assessing Decision-Making Capacity in Patients with Communication Impairments.

The ethical principle of autonomy requires physicians to respect patient autonomy when present, and to protect the patient who lacks autonomy. Fulfilling this ethical obligation when a patient has a communication impairment presents considerable challenges. Standard methods for evaluating decision-making capacity require a semistructured interview.

Ethics of neuroimaging after serious brain injury.

Background: Patient outcome after serious brain injury is highly variable. Following a period of coma, some patients recover while others progress into a vegetative state (unresponsive wakefulness syndrome) or minimally conscious state. In both cases, assessment is difficult and misdiagnosis may be as high as 43%.

Quality of life after septic illness.

Purpose: The study was undertaken to evaluate the quality of life of survivors of septic illness.

Materials And Methods: A questionnaire survey of survivors of septic illness (experimental group) and acute myocardial infarction (control group) was conducted using information from the Adult Neuropsychological History and the Sickness Impact Profile forms. Eight patients diagnosed with sepsis (using the Bone et al 1992 criteria [Bone RC, Sprung CL, Sibbald WJ.