Cerebral Mass Displacements. Part II Clinical Findings in Primary and Secondary Brain Stem Lesions

Confounding Brain Stem Function During Pediatric Brain Death Determination: Two Case Reports

“…However, international variations continued in diagnosing brain death, 8 with some countries implementing the oculocardiac reflex in their criteria. 9 This may be related to observations in severe head injury prognostication, 10,11 whereby the oculocardiac reflex may be one of the last brain stem reflexes to disappear, and its disappearance possibly coinciding with brain death. 10 The oculocardiac reflex's ability to assess brain stem function in brain death has physiologic merit.…”

“…9 This may be related to observations in severe head injury prognostication, 10,11 whereby the oculocardiac reflex may be one of the last brain stem reflexes to disappear, and its disappearance possibly coinciding with brain death. 10 The oculocardiac reflex's ability to assess brain stem function in brain death has physiologic merit. The reflex traverses along tracts in both the pons and medulla oblongata, which are not currently evaluated by North American criteria, and can elicit easy to differentiate clinical effects.…”