» Articles » PMID: 32807410

Subtle Ocular Movements in a Patient with Brain Death

Overview
Date 2020 Aug 19
PMID 32807410
Citations 1
Authors
Affiliations
Soon will be listed here.
Abstract

Introduction and Case Presentation: Brain death can be associated with limb movements that are attributed to spinal reflexes. Although head/face movements have been rarely reported, no case of overt eye movements in brain death has been documented. We report a case of a patient with subtle eye movements whose exam was otherwise consistent with brain death. The presence of eye movements delayed pronouncing the patient as brain dead and delayed organ donation. We agree with American Academy of Neurology Position statement from 2019 that brain death does not mean demise of every neuron. Discussion: This case raises important questions about the types of movements that should be "allowed" during the determination of brain death to avoid delays in diagnosis.

Citing Articles

Spinal reflexes and brain death.

Nair-Collins M Clin Neurophysiol Pract. 2022; 7:143-145.

PMID: 35676911 PMC: 9167867. DOI: 10.1016/j.cnp.2022.05.001.