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CC BY 4.0 · Indian Journal of Neurotrauma 2024; 21(02): 144-150
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1777679
Original Article

Assessment of Sleep Stages in Unconscious Patients with Acute Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Priya Singh
1   College of Nursing, All India Institute Of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
,
Latha Venkatesan
1   College of Nursing, All India Institute Of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
,
Deepak Agrawal 
2   Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute Of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
,
Milan Tirwa
1   College of Nursing, All India Institute Of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
,
Rati Agrawal
2   Department of Neurosurgery, All India Institute Of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India
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Abstract

Background The existence of a sleep cycle in deeply unconscious patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains unknown. Evaluating the sleep patterns of these patients may provide insights into their consciousness and help predict functional recovery.

Aims and Objectives This prospective observational study aimed to assess the usefulness of monitoring the sleep cycle in the prognostication of unconscious TBI patients.

Materials and Methods A purposive sampling technique was employed to include 39 patients with severe TBI (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS] ≤ 8). The average GCS score at admission was (5.76 ± 1.65). Sleep was monitored using an actigraphy smartwatch for 4 consecutive days, (3.15 ± 2.49) days postbrain injury. Sleep cycle monitoring tool and unconscious patient outcome monitoring tool were employed. An outcome assessment was done based on the GCS score.

Results Severe TBI patients exhibit intact sleep cycle (i.e., deep sleep, light sleep, and rapid eye movement sleep) despite being deeply unconscious, even in the acute stage. Total sleep duration was found to be significantly higher at a mean of 19.97 hours as compared to the mean of 8 hours as per the smartwatch reference value for normal individuals. Patients with improved sleep cycles had a higher likelihood of GCS improvement (p < 0.05).

Conclusion This study is the first of its kind to demonstrate that the sleep cycle is a reliable prognostic factor for the recovery of consciousness in the acute phase of severe TBI among unconscious patients, with improvement in the sleep cycle mirroring neurological improvement.

Keywords

traumatic brain injury - sleep cycle monitoring - unconscious patients - actigraphy smartwatch - sleep stages

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Publication History

Article published online:
30 July 2024

© 2024. The Author(s). This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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