In 1987, guidelines for the determination of brain death in children in the United States were proposed by a task force1 consisting of representatives of several major professional medical and legal societies (Table 1). These guidelines emphasized the importance of evaluation of the patient’s medical history and clinical examination in determining the cause of coma so that remedial or reversible conditions can be differentiated from other nonreversible causes. In addition, age-related observation periods and specific neurodiagnostic tests were recommended for children younger than 1 year. For children older than 1 year, the task force determined that the diagnosis of brain death could be made solely on a clinical basis and that laboratory studies were optional. Since their publication in 1987, these criteria have been generally accepted and have served as explicit guidelines for physicians who are asked to diagnose brain death in children. When these guidelines were developed,...
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1 April 2006
Clinical Articles|
April 01 2006
Brain Death in Infants and Children Available to Purchase
Stephen Ashwal, MD;
Stephen Ashwal, MD
Stephen Ashwal is chief of the Division of Pediatric Neurology and Teresa Serna-Fonseca is a pediatric nurse practitioner in the Department of Pediatrics, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, Calif.
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Teresa Serna-Fonseca, MS, RN, PCCNP, PNP
Teresa Serna-Fonseca, MS, RN, PCCNP, PNP
Stephen Ashwal is chief of the Division of Pediatric Neurology and Teresa Serna-Fonseca is a pediatric nurse practitioner in the Department of Pediatrics, Loma Linda University School of Medicine, Loma Linda, Calif.
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Crit Care Nurse (2006) 26 (2): 117–128.
Citation
Stephen Ashwal, Teresa Serna-Fonseca; Brain Death in Infants and Children. Crit Care Nurse 1 April 2006; 26 (2): 117–128. doi: https://doi.org/10.4037/ccn2006.26.2.117
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