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Confounding Brain Stem Function During Pediatric Brain Death Determination: Two Case Reports.

Gregory Hansen1, Ari R Joffe2,3

  • 11 Division of Pediatric Intensive Care, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.

Journal of Child Neurology
|April 11, 2017
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Brain death determination may miss signs of brain stem function in children. Current Canadian and US guidelines may not recognize or test for these critical indicators.

Area of Science:

  • Neurology
  • Pediatric Medicine
  • Clinical Diagnostics

Background:

  • Legal and clinical definitions of death often equate brain death with irreversible cessation of all functions.
  • Current diagnostic guidelines for brain death in Canada and the US are established protocols.
  • Pediatric patients present unique physiological considerations in neurological assessments.

Observation:

  • Two pediatric cases exhibited clinical signs indicative of brain stem function.
  • These observed signs were not part of the standard neurological examinations for brain death.
  • The patients' conditions challenged the completeness of existing diagnostic criteria.

Findings:

  • Observed clinical signs suggest residual brain stem activity in patients declared brain dead.
Keywords:
apnea/diagnosisbrain deathchild

Related Experiment Videos

  • Current Canadian and US brain death guidelines may not encompass all potential indicators of brain stem function.
  • There is a potential discrepancy between observed neurological function and declared legal/clinical death.

    • Implications:

    • Re-evaluation of current brain death diagnostic criteria in pediatric populations may be necessary.
    • Development of expanded testing protocols to identify subtle signs of brain stem function is recommended.
    • This could impact legal definitions of death and organ donation practices.