Recommendations Developed for Determining Brain Death

THURSDAY, Oct. 12, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- In a consensus guideline published online Oct. 11 in Neurology, updated recommendations are presented for determining brain death/death by neurologic criteria (BD/DNC) for adults and children.

David M. Greer, M.D., from the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and colleagues updated the 2010 American Academy of Neurology BD/DNC guideline for adults and the 2011 American Academy of Pediatrics, Child Neurology Society, and Society of Critical Care Medicine guideline for infants and children. The process of determining BD/DNC was clarified by integrating guidance for adults and children into a single guideline. The recommendations were developed by a panel of experts from multiple medical societies; recommendations were formulated and voted on.

Eighty-five recommendations were developed. These recommendations related to general principles for the evaluation of BD/DNC; qualifications to perform these evaluations; prerequisites for determination of BD/DNC; components of the BD/DNC neurologic examination; apnea testing and ancillary testing as part of the BD/DNC evaluation; and special considerations for determination of BD/DNC.

"This guideline provides a highly rigorous and structured approach to brain death evaluation and determination," coauthor Ariane Lewis, M.D., from the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, said in a statement. "It is recommended that hospital administrators ensure that their hospital's brain death determination policies are updated to be consistent with this new guideline."

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