Clin Med
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The vegetative state (VS) is a devastating clinical condition characterised by wakefulness without awareness. Functional neuroimaging permits to objectively measure brain responsiveness to external stimuli in VS. The literature on functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography studies in these patients has been reviewed. ⋯ Passive stimulation paradigms, however, do not permit to make strong claims about the absence or presence of consciousness. Recently proposed mental imagery paradigms permit to identify signs of consciousness in non-communicative brain damaged patients. The clinical application of these functional neuroimaging techniques awaits validation from ongoing multi-centric cohort studies in these challenging patients with chronic disorders of consciousness.
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There are many potential causes of FUO. Most cases are due to unusual presentations of common diseases rather than rare or exotic diseases. The key to establishing the diagnosis is a careful history and careful repeated examinations followed by targeted investigations.