Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38082049›Full record

ArticleNeurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology2024

The use of quantitative pupillometry in brain death determination: preliminary findings.

Pavlina Lenga, Daniel Kühlwein, Silvia Schönenberger, Jan-Oliver Neumann, Andreas W Unterberg, Christopher Beynon

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
2.3field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 8 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Pavlina LengaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Heidelberg University Hospital, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany. pavlina.lenga@med.uni-heidelberg.de.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3842-0783
Daniel KühlweinDepartment of Neurosurgery, Heidelberg University Hospital, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
Silvia SchönenbergerDepartment of Neurology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
Jan-Oliver NeumannDepartment of Neurosurgery, Heidelberg University Hospital, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
Andreas W UnterbergDepartment of Neurosurgery, Heidelberg University Hospital, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
Christopher BeynonDepartment of Neurosurgery, Heidelberg University Hospital, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
Heidelberg University · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeQuantitative pupillometry (QP) has been increasingly applied in neurocritical care as an easy-to-use and reliable technique for evaluating the pupillary light reflex (PLR). Here, we report our preliminary findings on using QP for clinical brain death (BD) determination. MATERIALS: This retrospective study included 17 patients ≥ 18 years (mean age, 57.3 years; standard deviation, 15.8 years) with confirmed BD, as defined by German Guidelines for the determination of BD. The PLR was tested using the NPi®-200 Pupillometer (Neuroptics, Laguna Hill, USA), a handheld infrared device automatically tracking and analyzing pupil dynamics over 3 s. In addition, pupil diameter and neurological pupil index (NPi) were also evaluated.

resultsIntracerebral bleeding, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and hypoxic encephalopathy were the most prevalent causes of BD. In all patients, the NPi was 0 for both eyes, indicating the cessation of mid-brain function. The mean diameter was 4.9 mm (± 1.3) for the right pupil and 5.2 mm (±1.2) for the left pupil.

conclusionsQP is a valuable tool for the BD certification process to assess the loss of PLR due to the cessation of brain stem function. Furthermore, implementing QP before the withdrawal of life-sustaining therapy in brain-injured patients may reduce the rate of missed organ donation opportunities. Further studies are warranted to substantiate the feasibility and potential of this technique in treating patients and identify suitable candidates for this technique during the BD certification process.

Indexed as

Brain DeathReflex, PupillaryBrainHumansMiddle AgedPupilRetrospective StudiesBrain deathIrreversibility of brain functionOrgan transplantationPupilPupil diameterPupillary light reflexQuantitative pupillometry

Identifiers

PMID38082049
PMCPMC11021299
OpenAlexW4389580238

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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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.