title: CT Angiography in the Diagnosis of Brain Death.
abstract: Summary Brain death is defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the entire brain, including the brainstem. Brain death is principally established using clinical criteria including coma, absence of brainstem reflexes and loss of central drive to breathe assessed with apnea test. In situations in which clinical testing cannot be performed or when uncertainty exists about the reliability of its parts due to confounding conditions ancillary tests (i.a. imaging studies) may be useful. The objective of ancillary tests in the diagnosis of brain death is to demonstrate the absence of cerebral electrical activity (EEG and evoked potentials) or cerebral circulatory arrest. In clinical practice catheter cerebral angiography, perfusion scintigraphy, transcranial Doppler sonography, CT angiography and MR angiography are used. Other methods, like perfusion CT, xenon CT, MR spectroscopy, diffusion weighted MRI and functional MRI are being studied as potentially useful in the diagnosis of brain death. CT angiography has recently attracted attention as a promising alternative to catheter angiography - a reference test in the diagnosis of brain death. Since 1998 several major studies were published and national guidelines were introduced in several countries (e.g. in France, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Canada). This paper reviews technique, characteristic findings and criteria for the diagnosis of cerebral circulatory arrest in CT angiography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sawicki
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Romuald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bohatyrewicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Interventional Radiology, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walecka
authors.affiliation: Clinic of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care, Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sołek-Pastuszka
authors.affiliation: 2 Department of Clinical Radiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Olgierd
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rowiński
authors.affiliation: Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Jerzy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Walecki
keywords: Brain Death; Cerebral Angiography; Multidetector Computed Tomography