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G93.80: Persistent vegetative state

You are unable to consciously perceive the world around you because your brain is badly damaged.

The brain is made up of several areas. For example, the cerebrum is used to think and plan actions. In the cerebellum, movements are initialized and coordinated. The brain stem is responsible for various unconscious tasks such as breathing. The brain stem passes into the spinal cord.

Your cerebellum has been very severely damaged. This can happen due to a bleed or an inflammation in the brain, for example. An accident can also damage the cerebellum severely. As a result of the damage, you are unable to consciously perceive the world around you. The person then fails to respond to external stimuli. Such a stimulus may be touching the skin or a trusted voice, for example. Typically, too, the person is unable to express their will. They may also be unable to control their urination and defecation.

Your brain stem has suffered little or no damage. So subconscious activities such as breathing and sleeping are mostly in place. The person has sometimes opened their eyes so that they are then awake.

They may sometimes move or make noises. These behaviors are not deliberate, however, and they can easily be confused with conscious behaviors.

Additional indicator

On medical documents, the ICD code is often appended by letters that indicate the diagnostic certainty or the affected side of the body.

  • G: Confirmed diagnosis
  • V: Tentative diagnosis
  • Z: Condition after
  • A: Excluded diagnosis
  • L: Left
  • R: Right
  • B: Both sides

Further information

Note

This information is not intended for self-diagnosis and does not replace professional medical advice from a doctor. If you find an ICD code on a personal medical document, please also note the additional indicator used for diagnostic confidence.
Your doctor will assist you with any health-related questions and explain the ICD diagnosis code to you in a direct consultation if necessary.

Source

Provided by the non-profit organization “Was hab’ ich?” gemeinnützige GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).