INTRAVENOUS ANGIOGRAPHY IN BRAIN-DEATH - REPORT OF 140 PATIENTS

We present our experience and discuss the value of cerebral intravenou s digital subtraction angiography (IV DSA) in the diagnosis of brain d eath. A total of 140 patients presenting with clinical signs of brain death were studied by IV DSA. According to the angiographic appearance of the vertebrobasilar system, the patients were divided into four gr oups. Cessation of blood flow within the internal carotid arteries and their branches was consistently found. Attention is focused on 9 pati ents with persistent blood flow within the posterior fossa. In sedated patients in whom EEG and evoked brain-stem responses are non-diagnost ic, or in order to shorten the observation time, transcranial Doppler should be performed to determine the appropriate moment for IV DSA, wh ich is a reliable method of confirming brain death.