Brain Death: Knowledge of Future Brazilian Physicians

Thousands of people die on the waiting list for transplants. The shortage of organs and tissues for transplantation is considered a serious global problem. Brain death (BD) is the main source of organs for transplantations.

Given that BD is assessed by medical staff and that this diagnosis is ethically relevant, the goal of this work was to analyze the knowledge of 5th- and 6th-year medical students of Southern Brazil regarding the process of determining BD.

This observational, cross-sectional study was conducted between September 2013 and March 2014.

A total of 635 students participated in the study, with 337 (53.1%) from public and 298 (46.9%) from private schools. Approximately 333 (52.4%) attended the 6th year of the medical program. The mean age of the students was 25.4 ± 3.56 years, with a prevalence of females of 54.6% (347) and a prevalence of Catholic religion of 61.7% (392); 84.2% of the students reported not feeling confident performing the BD protocol. A low percentage (15.7%) correctly answered 75% or more of the questions about BD, a criterion used to determine sufficient knowledge of BD. Approximately 45% (282) of respondents were not able to identify the patients who were candidates for the BD protocol. Analyzing the medical students' knowledge at the end of the program can provide information about the quality of undergraduate education on the topic of determining BD.

It was concluded that 5th- and 6th-year medical students of Paraná State have little knowledge about the BD protocol.