Complications during the maintenance of real-organ donors in brain death

Abstract

Introduction: proper handling of potential donors before and after the diagnosis of brain death can improve the number and quality of the organs procured. Objective: to learn about the complications of keeping real-organ donors in brain death at Abel Santamaria Cuadrado General Teaching Hospital during the years 2014 and 2015. Material and Methods: a descriptive, cross-sectional prospective study in patients with the diagnosis of brain death who were admitted to the intensive care unit. Data were collected from the medical records; the target group included 36 patients with brain death and the sample was comprised of 15 real-donor patients. Results: there was a predominance of male sex (66.67%), with the highest number of cases between 31 and 50 years of age. Hemorrhagic cerebrovascular disease was the cause that most contributed to the diagnosis of brain death with 73.33%, hypotension was present in all cases, hypernatremia and diabetes insipidus appeared in 73.33%, followed by hypokalemia (66.67%) and hypothermia (60%); extraction of organs was performed within the 4 - 8 hours after brain-death diagnosis in the 80% of real-donors. Conclusions: awareness of the complications arising during the maintenance of real-organ donors is of vital importance, since it may adversely affect the viability of the organ to be transplanted; early identification and appropriate treatment must be improved in order to achieve the crucial goal, transplantation.

Keywords

• Muerte encefálica
• Mantenimiento
• Obtención de tejidos y órganos.