Table 3 Attribution of capabilities of the patient in the vegetative state
Agreement | No. (%) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
All groups | Canadian | German | D (%)* | pvalue | |
(n = 332)1 | group1 | group1 | |||
(n = 200) | (n = 132) | ||||
Feeling pain | 232 (70) | 130 (65) | 102 (77) | (12) | p = 0.017 |
Feeling touch | 168 (51) | 79 (40) | 89 (67) | (27) | p < 0.001 |
Experiencing hunger/thirst | 117 (35) | 57 (29) | 60 (46) | (17) | p = 0.002 |
Smelling odors | 94 (28) | 48 (24) | 46 (35) | (11) | p = 0.032 |
Tasting flavors of food/drinks | 69 (21) | 31 (16) | 38 (29) | (13) | p = 0.003 |
Experiencing dreams | 70 (21) | 23 (12) | 47 (36) | (24) | p < 0.001 |
Having emotions | 63 (19) | 17 (9) | 46 (35) | (26) | p < 0.001 |
Having thoughts | 48 (15) | 18 (9) | 30 (23) | (14) | p < 0.001 |
Being aware of themselves | 24 (7) | 12 (6) | 12 (9) | (3) | p = 0.287 |
Recognizing their name | 23 (7) | 8 (4) | 16 (12) | (8) | p = 0.005 |
Recognizing people | 23 (7) | 6 (3) | 17 (13) | (10) | p = 0.001 |
Remembering experiences | 22 (7) | 5 (3) | 17 (13) | (10) | p < 0.001 |
Being aware of surroundings | 20 (6) | 12 (6) | 8 (6) | (0) | p = 0.982 |
Having sexual desires | 19 (6) | 2 (1) | 17 (13) | (12) | p < 0.001 |
Understanding what others say | 16 (5) | 5 (3) | 11 (8) | (5) | p = 0.015 |
Storing new information | 14 (4) | 4 (2) | 10 (8) | (6) | p = 0.013 |
Interacting with others | 14 (4) | 3 (2) | 11 (8) | (6) | p = 0.002 |
Expressing desires | 5 (2) | 2 (1) | 3 (2) | (1) | - |