Legal time of death is retrospectively noted as the time the first set of tests confirms brainstem death, though death is not declared until after the 2nd...
The Academy of the Medical Royal Colleges UK (AoMRC) code for the diagnosis of death by neurological criteria outlines three essential components: 1. Evidence of irreversible brain damage of known aetiology2. Exclusion of reversible causes of coma and apnoea3. Formal...
The patient is comatose and mechanically ventilated for apnoea There should be no doubt that the patient’s condition is due to irreversible brain damage of known...
Testing less than 6 hours of the loss of the last brainstem reflex Testing less than 24 hours of the loss of the last brainstem reflex, where aetiology primarily anoxic damage Patients with any neuromuscular disorders Prolonged fentanyl infusions Steroids given in...
Brainstem testing should not be performed when significant diagnostic uncertainty remains Rare occasions occur where the primary diagnosis causing loss of brainstem function cannot be reached despite extensive investigation: (e.g. presumed hypoxic brain injury,...
