Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria (May 2012)

Brazilian guidelines for the application of transcranial ultrasound as a diagnostic test for the confirmation of brain death

  • Marcos C. Lange,
  • Viviane H. F. Zétola,
  • Maramélia Miranda-Alves,
  • Carla H. C. Moro,
  • Carlos E. Silvado,
  • Daniela L. G. Rodrigues,
  • Edilene Guiotti di Gregorio,
  • Gisele S. Silva,
  • Jamary Oliveira-Filho,
  • Marco T. A. Perdatella,
  • Octávio M. Pontes-Neto,
  • Soraia R. C. Fábio,
  • Wagner M. Avelar,
  • Gabriel R. de Freitas

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2012000500012
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 70, no. 5
pp. 373 – 380

Abstract

Read online

Neurosonological studies, specifically transcranial Doppler (TCD) and transcranial color-coded duplex (TCCD), have high level of specificity and sensitivity and they are used as complementary tests for the diagnosis of brain death (BD). A group of experts, from the Neurosonology Department of the Brazilian Academy of Neurology, created a task force to determine the criteria for the following aspects of diagnosing BD in Brazil: the reliability of TCD methodology; the reliability of TCCD methodology; neurosonology training and skills; the diagnosis of encephalic circulatory arrest; and exam documentation for BD. The results of this meeting are presented in the current paper.

Keywords