Is telemonitoring useful for supporting persons with consciousness disorders and caregivers? A preliminary observational study in a real-life population.

Introduction Preliminary evidences showed that telemedicine may allow a reduction of costs and an enhancement of patients' satisfaction and quality of life (QoL), with the same effectiveness of conventional methods of healthcare delivery. Literature is quite absent in relation to the use of telemedicine for patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC) whose management is delegated almost entirely to the family. In order to promote an alternative setting to manage persons affected by DoC, also supporting their families, a pilot project was designed to test the feasibility of home-care assistance based on a system of telemonitoring.