[Dog-based multi-sensorial therapy of a patient with a "persistent vegetative state"--a case report]

There is evidence that animal-assisted therapy can have beneficial effects in patients with cognitive disorders. In the present case study, the influence of animal-assisted therapy was to be investigated in a patient with most severe cerebral lesions.

A 27 year old patient with a persistent vegetative state since 5 years after severe traumatic brain injury received long term treatment by 54 sessions of animal-assisted therapy.

During the course of the therapeutic interventions, the patient showed more and more signs of vegetative, emotional and motor reactions. The latter were increasingly target-bound and at last allowed a simple type of non-verbal communication.

The present case indicates that animal-assisted therapy can be a reasonable option to treat patients with most severe cerebral lesions. Furthermore, the results illustrate that the usual diagnostic classification such as "persistent vegetative state" based on a neurological investigation alone may be questionable. Possible reasons for the impact of animal-assisted therapy are complex and comprise e.g. multiple sensory stimuli.