Abstract
Finland was the first country in which brain death was legally accepted. Since 1975, 37 cases of brain death had been recorded in a university hospital in Finland, and these were reviewed. The cause for brain death was intracranial bleeding in 32 cases, other cerebrovascular disorder in two, and intracranial neoplasm in three. In 21 brain death was diagnosed clinically. In 16 cases confirmatory investigations (electroencephalography, cerebral angiography) were needed. After brain death had been established artificial support was withdrawn in 15 patients and organ transplantation was carried out in 10. In 12 patients, however, diagnosis of brain death did not influence management, though the heart stopped beating on average 25 hours after diagnosis. The Finnish criteria for brain death seem to be reliable and suitable for routine use.
Full text
PDF
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Beecher H. K. After the "definition of irreversible coma". N Engl J Med. 1969 Nov 6;281(19):1070–1071. doi: 10.1056/NEJM196911062811909. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Ingvar D. H., Widén L. Hjärndöd. Sammanfattning av ett symposium. Lakartidningen. 1972 Aug 16;69(34):3804–3814. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Jennett B. Irrecoverable brain damage after resuscitation: brain death and other syndromes. Resuscitation. 1976;5(1):49–52. doi: 10.1016/0300-9572(76)90020-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]