ABSTRACT
The process of taking new biomedical ideas and turning them into evidence-based medical practice is sometimes referred to as going from “bench to bedside.” Once a threshold of medical evidence has been reached for something to be promoted for use in regular clinical treatment, there is no magic signal that alerts all providers and makes it the standard. Based on some anecdotal evidence and preliminary studies, from the mid-2000s to the early 2010s, there was some evidence to support the use of a common generic drug, methylphenidate, to improve chances of recovery in patients with severe brain injuries and who were in a coma. Because of the low cost of the drug, minimal side effect impact on unconscious patients and lack of other options, the use of this treatment was relatively common among doctors familiar with the treatment.
