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Computed Tomography Angiography Accuracy in Brain Death Diagnosis

Completed
Conditions
Brain Death
Registration Number
NCT02045407
Lead Sponsor
Sergio Brasil, MD MSc
Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to assess the reliability of computed tomography angiography (CTA) to diagnose brain death, face of several conditions that make impossible to define such diagnosis using clinical criteria exclusively.

Detailed Description

Critically ill patients, presenting Glasgow Coma Score 5 or lower, will be submitted to the Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) of the skull assessment, and follow a clinical evaluation for brain death, additionally, transcranial Doppler would be applied as the gold standard for brain death.

We will exclude patients whose do not can be submitted to contrast injection, or if a brain death clinical evaluation has been performed prior the CTA.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
106
Inclusion Criteria
  • Individuals of any age or sex with brain death suspicion raised, before clinical test.
  • Comatose patients presenting Glasgow Coma Score as or under 5 points, under sedative agents or not.
Exclusion Criteria
  • Brain dead patients clinically confirmed.
  • Contraindications to the use of contrast medium (renal failure or allergy).

Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Assess the presence or absence of contrast medium filling of the intracranial vessels in comatose patients.1 year

After excluding confounding factors, we will submit comatose patients to CTA. Immediately after the exam, we will perform clinical evaluation for brain death and calculate CTA sensibility and specificity for this diagnosis. Time between these two interventions will be measured.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP.

🇧🇷

São Paulo, Brazil

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