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The most frequently seen pathologies associated with brainstem death are:
Direct Insult
- Shearing injury due to trauma or hanging
- Focal ischaemia of vertebral / basilar artery pathology:
- Traumatic vertebral dissection
- Subarachnoid haemorrhage
Indirect Insult
- Focal Pathology:
- Posterior fossa haematoma
- Any global increase in ICP with tonsillar herniation:
- Trauma
- Hypoxia
- Hydrocephalus
- Infection (meningitis)
- Ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke
- Hepatic encephalopathy