Professor, Neurology Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Winston-Salem, North Carolina
There are two sets of criteria for death determination. The first is the circulatory-respiratory criteria set, wherein the patient has permanently lost circulation, respiration, and responsiveness. The second is the neurologic criteria set, in which the patient has irreversible cessation of whole brain function including the brainstem. In this presentation, the controversies that occur in critical care patients surrounding brain death declaration will be highlighted. The standards for death declaration for both circulatory and neurologic criteria will be discussed for the critical care patient. The appropriateness and timing for the adjuncts used in declaration of brain death will be reviewed.
