Dynamic computed tomography of cerebral circulatory arrest.
Cerebral circulatory arrest is the physiological vascular equivalent of brain death. A series of eight consecutive patients referred with a clinical diagnosis of cerebral death secondary to various causes exhibited stagnation of blood within major vessels at the base of the brain, and complete gross nonperfusion of cerebral tissue within the plane of section, to include the cerebral hemispheres, brainstem, and cerebellum. While clinical confirmation of brain death is mandatory, this study confirms that intravenous dynamic cranial computed tomography is an efficacious, noninvasive method that may be useful in the immediate evaluation of the generalized abnormal cranial perfusion peculiar to this condition.
Jinkins
J R
JR
Department of Radiology, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA.