Complementary test for the diagnosis of brain death

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24591890
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: General surgery
• Research Institution: Nippon Medical School
• Principal Investigator: Yokota Hiroyuki 日本医科大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 教授 (60182698)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 脳死判定 / 電気整理学的検査 / 聴性脳幹反応

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The number of organ transplantation from the brain dead donor is increasing under the revised organ transplantation law, which has been gone into effect from July, 2010 in Japan. However, cases not to be able to evaluate the brainstem reflex, such as cases with the injury of the eye, or cervical cord, cannot make diagnosis according to the Criteria of brain death in Japan. In the other country, the auditory evoked potential (ABR) or short latency somato-sensory evoked potential (SSEP) is used as the complementary test for the brainstem function. In this study, we discussed about the usefulness of the evoked potential, especially of ABR as the complementary test for the diagnosis of brain death and the serial finding of ABR with the cases suffering from critical intracranial disease admitted to our department. Our study suggested that ABR was important complementary test for the diagnosis of brain death, but was not complete test for the evaluation of the brainstem function.

Free Research Field

医学、脳神経外科学、救急医学