Responding to smell good sign in unconscious patients, scientists find

Research may lead to simple tool to make prognoses for people with brain injuries

Wafting the scent of rotten fish or shampoo under the nose of a patient with severe brain injury could help doctors determine their level of consciousness - and their chances of long-term survival.

Scientists say patients are more likely to take a sniff of the odours if they are in a minimally conscious, rather than an unresponsive, state, but if the latter do respond to smell, it bodes well.