ReviewCanadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie2023
What does "brainstem death" mean? A review of international protocols.
Review in Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Equitable access to pediatric kidney transplantation: bridging the gap-the view from low- to lower-middle-income countries.Pediatric nephrology (Berlin, Germany) · 2026Review
- The 2023 AAN/AAP/CNS/SCCM Pediatric and Adult Brain Death/Death by Neurologic Criteria Consensus Practice Guideline: A Comparison With the 2010 and 2011 Guidelines.Neurology. Clinical practice · 2023Article
- Answering global challenges to the determination of death: consensus-building leadership from Canada.Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthesie · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeThe term "brainstem death" is ambiguous; it can be used to refer either exclusively to loss of function of the brainstem or loss of function of the whole brain. We aimed to establish the term's intended meaning in national protocols for the determination of brain death/death by neurologic criteria (BD/DNC) from around the world.
methodsOf 78 unique international protocols on determination of BD/DNC, we identified eight that referred exclusively to loss of function of the brainstem in the definition of death. Each protocol was reviewed to ascertain whether it 1) required assessment for loss of function of the whole brain, 2) required assessment only for loss of function of the brainstem, or 3) was ambiguous about whether loss of function of the higher brain was required to declare DNC.
resultsOf the eight protocols, two (25%) required assessment for loss of function of the whole brain, three (37.5%) only required assessment for loss of function of the brainstem, and three (37.5%) were ambiguous about whether loss of function of the higher brain was required to declare death. The overall agreement between raters was 94% (κ = 0.91).
conclusionsThere is international variability in the intended meaning of the terms "brainstem death" and "whole brain death" resulting in ambiguity and potentially inaccurate or inconsistent diagnosis. Regardless of the nomenclature, we advocate for national protocols to be clear regarding any requirement for ancillary testing in cases of primary infratentorial brain injury who may fulfill clinical criteria for BD/DNC.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.