BOF 30
You have been called to see a man and to give your
opinion about brain death. The followings should be excluded before saying it
is a brain death, which one is the wrong statement:
1-severe hypotension
2-barbiturate poisoning
3-core body temperature 30 C
4-neuromuscular blocking agents overuse
5-he is on a ventilator
Answer 5
Many conditions can MIMIC brain death clinically upon
examination and without excluding them; you will KILL a person legally despite
the reversibility of brain damage.
These are:
Profound shock, sedatives drug intoxication,
hypothermia (core body temperature below 32 C) and neuromuscular blockade use.
Children usually resist brain damage better than adults for the same degree of
insult, so give them a chance and be extremely careful when diagnosing brain
death in a child less than 5 years old.
Don’t think that the diagnosis of brain death is an
easy task (seems very easy when read in textbooks), it is a terrible
responsibility, legally, ethically and medically
