The aim of this study is to evaluate mood disorders and needs in caregivers of disorders of consciousness (DOC) patients during the admission to Neurorehabilitation Unit. A total of 80 caregivers was enrolled and divided in two groups (caregivers of vegetative state-VS patients and caregivers of minimally conscious state-MCS patients). Paired sample t tests were carried out to test differences between baseline observation (T0) and after 6 months (T1). Caregivers of VS patients showed an improvement between T0 and T1 especially, in vitality, mean health, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory-Y (STAI-Y), Prolonged Grief Disorder (PG 12) and Caregiver Needs Assessment (CNA). On the other hand, caregivers of MCS patients showed a significant improvement in: BDI II, STAI Y and CNA. These data confirmed that the presence of psychological problems, the quality of life and the psychological wellbeing of caregivers of DOC patients improved over the time.

Acquired brain injury can produce severe impairments of alertness, cognition, behavior, and, sometimes, an impairment of consciousness. Several studies defined the criteria to distinguish the different level of disorders of consciousness (DOC) and many tools to evaluate awareness, alertness, and response to stimuli were created. The aim of this review is to assess the advanced research of rehabilitative protocols and which rehabilitative techniques are used in the care of DOC patients.