Brain Death Checklist
Brain Death Checklist
General Items
- Document all findings and maintain clear records.
- Communicate findings with the healthcare team.
- Discuss next steps with family members.
Preliminary Steps
- Ensure the patient is in a suitable environment for evaluation.
- Confirm the patient's medical history and clinical presentation.
- Assess for any recent sedation or neuromuscular blockers.
- Ensure core body temperature is above 32°C (90°F).
Neurological Examination
- Assess for coma: no response to verbal commands or painful stimuli.
- Check for brainstem reflexes: pupillary response, corneal reflex, and gag reflex.
- Evaluate for motor responses: no purposeful movement to stimuli.
- Confirm absence of cranial nerve reflexes: no blink, no eye movement.
Apnea Test
- Ensure patient is not on ventilator support.
- Administer oxygen to maintain adequate arterial saturation.
- Observe for spontaneous respiratory effort while CO2 levels rise.
- Confirm absence of breathing efforts at a CO2 level of 60 mmHg or greater.
Ancillary Tests (if needed)
- Consider EEG to demonstrate absence of electrical activity.
- Use cerebral blood flow studies (e.g., CT, MRI) if necessary.
- Perform transcranial Doppler to assess for blood flow.
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