[Clinico-pathological study of cerebral death].

INTRODUCTION

We present the experience of the Hospital Provincial Clinico Quirúrgico Saturnino Lora, Santiago de Cuba, in the clinical study of brain death.

MATERIAL AND

METHODS

We studied 27 cases admitted to hospital between 1994 and 1995. In 74.07% of these cases organ extraction was carried out. The most commonly affected age group was between 20 and 29 years old, which made up more than half of the total number of cases, with a predominance (81.5%) of males.

RESULTS

Cranio-encephalic injury was the commonest cause, in particular severe cerebral contusion and primary brain stem contusion. The patients had brain death lasting between one and five hours and one for 38 hours. Respiratory sepsis was the most frequent associated pathology. Computerized axial tomography and straight X-rays were the imaging techniques most commonly used in the diagnosis of brain death. Severe cerebral oedema was the most frequent anatomopathological finding and was seen in all cases in which necropsy was done, followed by herniation of the cingulum in 23 cases (88.4%) and cerebral necropsy in 20.

CONCLUSIONS

These anatomopathological results show the severe damage suffered by cerebral structures.