Disorder of consciousness diagnosis, especially when is classified as persistent vegetative state (without misestimating the other diagnosis classifications), in the intensive care is an important diagnosis to evaluate and treat. Persistent vegetative state diagnosis is a challenge in the daily clinical practice because the diagnosis is made mainly based upon the clinical history and the patient behavior observation. There are some specific criteria for this diagnosis, and this could be very tricky when the physician is not well trained. We made a literature review regarding the persistent vegetative state diagnosis, clinical features, management, prognosis, and daily medical practice challenges while considering the bioethical issues and the family perspective about the patient status. The objective of this overview is to provide updated information regarding this clinical state’s features while considering the current medical literature available. Regardless of the currently available guidelines and literature, there is still a lot of what we do not know about the persistent vegetative state. There is a lack of evidence regarding the optimal diagnosis and even more, about how to expect a natural history of this disorder of consciousness. It is important to recall that the patients (despite of their altered mental state diagnosis) should always be treated to avoid some of the intensive care unit long-stance complications.

中文翻译：

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持续植物人状态：概述

意识障碍的诊断，特别是当被归类为持续植物人状态时（没有错误估计其他诊断分类），在重症监护室是一个重要的诊断评估和治疗。持续植物状态诊断是日常临床实践中的一个挑战，因为诊断主要基于临床病史和患者行为观察。这种诊断有一些特定的标准，如果医生没有受过良好的培训，这可能会非常棘手。我们对持续性植物人状态诊断、临床特征、管理、预后和日常医疗实践挑战进行了文献综述，同时考虑了生物伦理问题和对患者状态的家庭观点。本概述的目的是在考虑当前可用的医学文献的同时提供有关此临床状态特征的更新信息。不管当前可用的指南和文献如何，关于持续植物人状态，我们仍然有很多不了解的地方。缺乏关于最佳诊断的证据，甚至更多关于如何预期这种意识障碍的自然病程的证据。重要的是要记住，患者（尽管他们的精神状态诊断发生了变化）应该始终接受治疗以避免一些重症监护病房的长期并发症。关于持续植物人状态，我们还有很多不知道的地方。缺乏关于最佳诊断的证据，甚至更多关于如何预期这种意识障碍的自然病程的证据。重要的是要记住，患者（尽管他们的精神状态诊断发生了变化）应该始终接受治疗以避免一些重症监护病房的长期并发症。关于持续植物人状态，我们还有很多不知道的地方。缺乏关于最佳诊断的证据，甚至更多关于如何预期这种意识障碍的自然病程的证据。重要的是要记住，患者（尽管他们的精神状态诊断发生了变化）应该始终接受治疗以避免一些重症监护病房的长期并发症。