[Post-traumatic coma from diffuse brain lesions. A correlative study of the levels of dysfunction and the EEG nyctohemeral aspects (author's transl)].

Thirteen EEG and polygraphic recordings were performed during a 24-hour period in 11 patients with post-traumatic coma. Spontaneous fluctuations, reactivity, and the organization of electrical activity were studied throughout the nyctohemeral period. The results were compared with the data obtained from clinical examinations evaluated in terms of the level of neurological dysfunction. The level of impairment of the EEG was usually a valid indication of the level of neurological dysfunction, the EEG results being sometimes more precise than the clinical data. In regard to the prognosis, the disappearance in the EEG of any fluctuations coincided with an unfavourable evolution.