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Can you have spinal reflexes when brain-dead?

Can you have spinal reflexes when brain-dead?

Spontaneous and reflex movements may occur in brain-dead patients. These movements originate from spinal cord neurons and do not preclude a brain-death diagnosis.

Can an EEG detect brain death?

EEGs are performed occasionally to provide supportive evidence of brain death. Although brain death is defined by clinical criteria, some situations preclude complete or definitive examination findings (such as severe open head or eye trauma). In such situations, a confirmatory test is often helpful.

What reflexes are present in brain death?

A variety of reflex movements have been reported in patients with brain death, such as plantar responses, muscle stretch reflexes, abdominal reflexes, and finger jerks (2). Because the aforementioned reflexes are spinal reflexes, the existence of such reflex movements does not preclude the diagnosis of brain death.

How does EEG determine brain death?

The EEG measures brain voltage in microvolts. It is so sensitive that the static electricity in a person’s clothes will give a squiggle on the EEG (a false positive). All positive responses suggest brain function. The patient in the deepest coma will show some EEG electroactivity, while the brain-dead patient will not.

Can brain dead patients move their hands?

Spontaneous Movements Often Occur After Brain Death. ST. PAUL, MN – Many brain-dead patients have spontaneous movements such as jerking of fingers or bending of toes that can be disturbing to family members and health care professionals and even cause them to question the brain-death diagnosis.

What does it mean when an EEG shows no brain activity?

The EEG — or electroencephalogram — measures the brain activity of the patient. Medical professionals have long accepted that a flat line EEG indicates an irreversible coma, one of the most serious types of comas. Furthermore, a flat line EEG is often an indication that the brain is no longer alive.

Do brain dead patients yawn?

People in a vegetative state usually have extensive brain damage, but may blink their eyes and look around, breathe on their own, yawn, chew, and even withdraw their arms or legs to painful stimulation.

Can you come back after no brain activity?

A person who is brain dead is dead, with no chance of revival. Coma: A state of profound unresponsiveness as a result of severe illness or brain injury.

Can someone with no brain activity come back?

A person who’s brain dead is legally confirmed as dead. They have no chance of recovery because their body is unable to survive without artificial life support.

Are there any reflexes that cause brain death?

Spontaneous and reflex movements have been described in brain death and these unusual movements might cause uncertainties in diagnosis. In this study we evaluated the presence of spinal reflexes in patients who fulfilled the criteria for brain death.

What is the frequency of spinal reflexes in brain dead patients?

In conclusion, although these reported movements are of a highly complicated nature, they are known to be purely spinal in origin. The most dramatic motor movement observed in brain-death patients is Lazarus sign. In our study, the frequency of spinal reflexes was 13.4%.

Can a flatline EEG be evidence of brain death?

Note that a flatline EEG can be found in the absence of brain death in some situations (e.g. drug intoxication). Therefore, by itself the flatline EEG is less powerful evidence supporting brain death than the flow scan.

How long does it take to diagnose brain death?

The process of brain death diagnosis takes hours.4 During this period, some unexpected movements, considered spinal reflexes, are occasionally observed. These movements originate from spinal cord neurons and do not preclude the diagnosis of brain death.