Variability in Diagnosing Brain Death at an Academic Medical Center

Figure 5

Overall adherence to AAN guidelines for death by neurological criteria. Preclinical prerequisites: absence of drugs/sedative/hypnotics, absence of medical conditions and metabolic derangements, absence of hypothermia, and absence of hypotension. Neurological examination: coma/absent response to painful stimulus, absent pupillary reflex, absent corneal reflex, absent cough reflex, absent gag reflex, absent oculovestibular reflex, and absent oculocephalic reflex. Apnea test prerequisites: eucapnia, normotension, normothermia, euvolemia, and absence of hypoxia. Ancillary test: electroencephalograph, single-photon emission computed tomography, transcranial Doppler, and cerebral angiography. , number; AAN, American Academy of Neurology.