From Vegetative State to Participation: Amantadine As a Trigger of the Rehabilitation Program

Authors

  • Ana Zão Serviço de Medicina Física e de Reabilitação. Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto. Porto. Portugal.
  • Ana Filipe Almeida Unidade de Reabilitação Pediátrica. Centro de Reabilitação do Norte. Valadares. Vila Nova de Gaia.
  • Gustavo Beça Unidade de Reabilitação Pediátrica e Unidade de Reabilitação de Traumatismo Cranioencefálico. Centro de Reabilitação do Norte. Valadares. Vila Nova de Gaia.
  • Renato Nunes Unidade de Reabilitação Pediátrica e Unidade de Reabilitação de Traumatismo Cranioencefálico. Centro de Reabilitação do Norte. Valadares. Vila Nova de Gaia.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20344/amp.11257

Keywords:

Amantadine, Brain Injuries, Traumatic / drug therapy, Traumatic / rehabilitation, Persistent Vegetative State

Abstract

The use of amantadine in clinical practice still seems limited, despite its increasing evidence in the emergence of vegetative state after traumatic brain injury. We describe the case of an adolescent with severe traumatic brain injury after being run over by a car. After four months of hospitalization in a Central Hospital where he remained in a vegetative state, he was transferred to a Rehabilitation Center. He underwent a comprehensive rehabilitation program with physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy, including multisensory stimulation and intervention in the surrounding environment. He started amantadine, 50 mg/day, titrated up to 200 mg/day, with significant clinical and functional improvements, and emerged from vegetative state to minimally conscious state at week three and recovered consciousness at the sixth week of amantadine, maintaining progressive improvement, even after drug suspension. The case described underlines the importance of a holistic intervention and corroborates the literature in demonstrating the efficacy and safety of amantadine in the emergence from vegetative state.

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Published

2020-09-01

How to Cite

1.
Zão A, Almeida AF, Beça G, Nunes R. From Vegetative State to Participation: Amantadine As a Trigger of the Rehabilitation Program. Acta Med Port [Internet]. 2020 Sep. 1 [cited 2024 Mar. 28];33(9):604-9. Available from: https://www.actamedicaportuguesa.com/revista/index.php/amp/article/view/11257

Issue

Section

Case Report