Editing Coma (section)

== Prognosis ==
Comas can last from several days to, in particularly extreme cases, years. Some patients eventually gradually come out of the coma, some progress to a [[Persistent vegetative state|vegetative state]] or a [[minimally conscious state]], and others die. Some patients who have entered a vegetative state go on to regain a degree of awareness; and in some cases may remain in vegetative state for years or even decades such as the [[Aruna Shanbaug case]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Aruna Shanbaug: Brain-damaged India nurse dies 42 years after rape |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-32776897 |work=BBC News |date=18 May 2015 }}</ref> or [[Edwarda O'Bara]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/22/3109800/edwarda-obara-who-spent-4-decades.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212223430/https://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/22/3109800/edwarda-obara-who-spent-4-decades.html |archive-date=12 December 2013 |title=Edwarda O'Bara, who spent 4 decades in a coma, dies at 59 |first1=Diana |last1=Moskovitz |date=22 November 2012 |newspaper=Miami Herald }}</ref>

Predicted chances of recovery will differ depending on which techniques were used to measure the patient's severity of neurological damage. Predictions of recovery are based on [[statistical]] rates, expressed as the level of chance the person has of recovering. Time is the best general predictor of a chance of recovery. For example, after four months of coma caused by [[brain damage]], the chance of partial recovery is less than 15%, and the chance of full recovery is very low.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Formisano |first1=R. |last2=Carlesimo |first2=G. A. |last3=Sabbadini |first3=M. |last4=Loasses |first4=A. |last5=Penta |first5=F. |last6=Vinicola |first6=V. |last7=Caltagirone |first7=C. |title=Clinical predictors and neuropsychological outcome in severe traumatic brain injury patients |journal=Acta Neurochirurgica |date=May 2004 |volume=146 |issue=5 |pages=457–462 |doi=10.1007/s00701-004-0225-4 |pmid=15118882 }}</ref>

The outcome for coma and vegetative state depends on the cause, location, severity and extent of neurological damage. A deeper coma alone does not necessarily mean a slimmer chance of recovery; similarly, a milder coma does not indicate a higher chance of recovery. The most common cause of death for a person in a vegetative state is secondary [[infection]] such as [[pneumonia]], which can occur in patients who lie still for extended periods.

=== Recovery ===
People may emerge from a coma with a combination of physical, intellectual, and psychological difficulties that need special attention. It is common for coma patients to awaken in a profound state of confusion and experience [[dysarthria]], the inability to articulate any speech. Recovery is usually gradual. In the first days, the patient may only awaken for a few minutes, with increased duration of wakefulness as their recovery progresses, and they may eventually recover full awareness. That said, some patients may never progress beyond very basic responses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/coma/coma.htm#What_is_the_prognosis|title=Coma Information Page: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)|author=NINDS|date=October 29, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204112240/http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/coma/coma.htm#What_is_the_prognosis|archive-date=December 4, 2010|url-status=dead|access-date=2010-12-08|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

There are reports of people coming out of a coma after long periods of time. After 19 years in a [[minimally conscious state]], [[Terry Wallis]] spontaneously began speaking and regained awareness of his surroundings.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mother stunned by coma victim's unexpected words |url=https://www.smh.com.au/national/mother-stunned-by-coma-victims-unexpected-words-20030712-gdh315.html |work=The Sydney Morning Herald |date=12 July 2003 }}</ref>

A man with brain damage and trapped in a coma-like state for six years was brought back to consciousness in 2003 by doctors who planted electrodes deep inside his brain. The method, called [[deep brain stimulation]] (DBS), successfully roused communication, complex movement and eating ability in the man with a traumatic brain injury. His injuries left him in a minimally conscious state, a condition akin to a coma but characterized by occasional, but brief, evidence of environmental and self-awareness that coma patients lack.<ref>{{cite news |title=Electrodes stir man from six-year coma-like state |url=http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/electrodes-stir-man-six-year-coma-state/ |work=Cosmos Magazine |date=2 August 2007 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306083843/http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/electrodes-stir-man-six-year-coma-state/ |archive-date=6 March 2014}}</ref>