Abstract
Background
Organ transplantation after brain death (BD) of the donor has been promoted in many
countries as an established medical treatment. However, some problems with brain-dead
organ transplantation have been reported. For example, there is no evidence as to
the optimal observation period for a diagnosis and no evidence to support the interpretation
of the various body movements observed after the determination of BD.
Case report
A previously healthy 17-month-old girl with severe febrile convulsive status was transferred
to our intensive care unit. The convulsions were refractory and the patient required
respiratory management due to whole brain edema on head CT. Later she was diagnosed
with acute encephalopathy. The patient showed a flat EEG, no responses on auditory
brainstem responses (ABR), and loss of brainstem reflexes on repeated daily examinations.
No apnea test was performed. Based on the diagnosis of clinical BD, coordinator of
Japan Organ Transplant Network explained about organ donation on the 17th day of the
disease. Subsequently, the family responded that they could not consent to organ donation,
and the patient did not proceed to the legal BD determination. Around five weeks after
the onset, spontaneous body movements began to appear, as not only the spinal reflexes
but also the brainstem involvement.
Conclusion
The pathophysiology of acute encephalopathy is largely unknown, and it is difficult
to determine the observation period necessary for BD determination. What we have learned
from this case is that clinical BD remains ambiguous and cannot be confirmed even
with a thorough neurological examination, EEG, and ABR.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: June 23, 2022
Accepted:
June 10,
2022
Received in revised form:
June 10,
2022
Received:
February 8,
2022
Identification
Copyright
© 2022 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
