Topic: Brain Death
Subject: Medicine
A 57-year-old white male with coronary artery disease suffered a cardiac arrest while jogging 10 days ago. He was resuscitated after 45 minutes but has remained unresponsive and on a ventilator since then.
Which one of the following is required to diagnose brain death in this patient?
Hypothermia
Continuous mechanical ventilation
The absence of spontaneous body movements
Electroencephalographic confirmation
Correct Answer :
D. Electroencephalographic confirmation
An electroencephalogram (EEG) is one of the most well-validated tests for confirming brain death. The presence of hypothermia will confound any attempt to determine brain death; the patient must be warm to ensure the diagnosis. The mechanical ventilator may give false readings and must be discontinued to get a real picture of the patients ability to breathe. Spontaneous body movements can occur even hours after actual brain death. Corneal reflexes never occur after death.
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