Pediatric experience with brain death determination.

Abstract

A retrospective study of the experience at the University Pediatric Hospital during a six-year period when 2529 patients were admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and 80 were diagnosed with brain death. Etiologic causes, age and sex distribution and use of confirmatory studies were evaluated. The specific criterias for brain death determination in children are discussed and it was found that 3.1% of all the admissions to PICU were diagnosed with brain death. This diagnosis was most common in the 6 to 12 year old children (35%) and in infants younger than 2 years of age (30%). Trauma accounted for 41.0% of the cases. In babies less than 6 months of age, 71.4% were battered. Only 11% accepted organ donation.