While evidence-based guidelines exist for the determination of brain death in infants, children, and adults, Nevada is currently the only state to adopt laws that require adherence to these guidelines.
Finding the balance of empathy and professionalism is a skill that not enough of us recognize as essential, and even fewer seek to teach.
Attempting to engage on an intellectual level about the heady concept of brain death while in the throes of bereavement can often lead to mistrust and confusion.
While there have been improvements, variation still exists.
Functional connectivity strength between the PCC and mPFC was significantly different in comatose patients who went on to recover compared to those who remained comatose.
A selective structural disruption in fibers connecting the thalamus and primary motor cortex may be behind the absence of overt motor function in vegetative patients who are covertly aware.
The benefits for both the patient and caregiver were evident.
Reducing body temperatures to 91.4 degrees or 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit didn’t seem to affect brain damage after cardiac arrest.
Determinations of brain death are becoming increasingly clouded by special circumstances, religious beliefs, and inconsistencies across state lines.
