BRAIN DEATH CRITERIA

Course overview

BRAIN DEATH OCCURS AS A RESULT OF AN ACUTE CATASTROPHIC BRAIN INJURY. ABRUPT LOSS OF CEREBRAL PERFUSION OCCURS IF A CONCOMITANT ELEVATION OF INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE IS MORE THAN MEAN ARTERIAL PRESSURE (CEREBRAL PERFUSION PRESSURE (CPP) = MEAN ARTERIAL PRESSURE (MAP) - INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE (ICP). BRAIN DEATH ACCOUNTS FOR AROUND 2% OF DEATHS IN THE UNITED STATES AND IS OFTEN CAUSED BY TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY. CRITERIA FOR BRAIN DEATH DETERMINATION WERE PUBLISHED IN THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NEUROLOGY GUIDELINES, BUT THEY ARE STILL A TOPIC OF ONGOING DEBATE. IT IS ALSO CRUCIAL TO DIFFERENTIATE BRAIN DEATH FROM OTHER FORMS OF SEVERE BRAIN DAMAGE, INCLUDING VEGETATIVE STATE (VS) AND MINIMALLY RESPONSIVE STATE (MRS). THIS ACTIVITY DISCUSSES THE DEFINITION AND THE CRITERIA FOR BRAIN DEATH DETERMINATION AND THE ROLE OF THE INTER-PROFESSIONAL TEAM.