ABSTRACT
Sensory deprivation is one of the common complications of coma patients in the intensive care unit [ICU]. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a familiar voice to consciousness level in coma patients. A total of 13 patients with traumatic coma [8 >/= Glasgow's coma scale [GCS]] admitted in ICU ward were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. The experimental group was treated twice a daily each time 15 min with a familiar recorded MP3 sound for 2 weeks. The control group received only natural voices of environment. GCS applied to evaluate patients' level of consciousness. Findings showed that duration to reach GCS = 15 was significantly shorter in the experimental group [X[2] = 12/96, P < 0/001]. These findings imply that providing familiar auditory stimulation programs for coma patients in the ICU could be effective