Prediction of the Evolution to Brain Death in the Neurocritical Patient: SPN Model Showed Better Performance Than Simplified Acute Physiology Score II and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II.

The detection of brain death (BD) plays a fundamental role in the management of hospital donation. Delayed diagnosis of BD is the main cause of donor loss. A tool for monitoring and prognosis in the neurocritical patient is essential to meet these objectives. The most used prognostic scores in intensive care units are Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II. A predictive model of good performance (ModSPN) in predicting BD in neurocritical patients with Glasgow Coma Scale score < 8 was published in 2014. With the objective of analyzing the predictive capacity of ModSPN and comparing it with SAPS II and APACHE II, 2307 patients admitted to the neurocritical patient monitoring (SPN) program of the INDT were analyzed. The predictive capacity for death and brain death of SAPS II, APACHE II, and ModSPN was compared using receiver operating characteristic curves. The area under the curve showed a better APACHE II performance for the prediction of death and the ModSPN being a better predictor of the probability of dying in BD. Therefore, for the prediction of death in the neurocritical patient, APACHE II was superior, but for the prediction of encephalic death, the ModSPN presented the best predictive power for all causes of brain injury.

Addressing a Diagnosis of Brain Death in Hypernatremia Situation.

Hypernatremia and the state of plasma hypertonia are part of the alterations of insipid diabetes that are integrated to the brain death (BD) syndrome. Hypernatremia should be corrected as early as possible to make the clinical diagnosis of BD and to avoid its potential deleterious effect on the subsequent operation of the liver graft. Transcranial Doppler is a very valuable tool for the diagnosis of cerebral circulatory arrest associated with BD. The correction of natremia is made through the use of hypotonic solutions, and using of pyrogen-free distilled water intravenously in special cases, which controls the possibility of hemolysis in the donor. In our study, isolated severe hypernatremia corrected before ablation was not associated with liver graft failure in the recipient.

Organ Use Rate: A New Indicator of Donation and Transplantation Efficiency.

The conversion rate has emerged as a good indicator of the effectiveness of the transplantation process by showing the percentage of potential donors who become real donors, but it overestimates the number of organs that are actually used for transplantation in recipients. The incorporation of organ use rate, a new quality indicator that reflects the actual number of organs used for transplantation excluding those that are discarded in the surgical block, provides complementary information of great value when comparing transplantation in different regions. This new variable allows more accurate prediction of the waiting time for the transplantation of a certain organ in patients with nonreversible organic insufficiencies, while providing the national authorities a real response in relation to the percentage of the demand for organs that can be satisfied.

Intensive Care Unit Approach to the Diagnosis of Brain Death in Infratentorial Neurologic Pathology: Case Reports.

The ischemic and primary vascular injury of the brainstem (BS) can determine, among other serious conditions, the brain death (BD) of the individual. We present 2 cases of individuals with primary ischemic vascular disease of the BS who evolved to BD and were donors of solid organs and tissues. In both cases, the clinical examination was positive for the diagnosis of BD, and transcranial Doppler did not confirm the pattern of cerebral circulatory arrest that accompanies BD. The magnetic resonance angiography performed on 1 patient confirmed the lesion etiology and the presence of vascular obstruction. Both patients were real and effective organ and tissue donors. In these cases, we suggest not to resort to transcranial Doppler as an auxiliary diagnostic test.

Does Traumatic Brain Injury by Firearm Injury Accelerates the Brain Death Cascade? Preliminary Results.

Brain death (BD) triggers a series of pathophysiological events similar to multiple-organ dysfunction. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) due to firearm injury (FAI) causes lesions that could lead to BD. Patients admitted to the ICU due to severe TBI that evolved to BD were studied, including those caused by FAI; the 2 groups were compared with the objective of demonstrating that the support of the deceased donor by TBI due to FAI is more unstable and of shorter duration than the one related to TBI by another cause. Preliminary results demonstrated that the individuals with TBI by FAI died in BD in a higher percentage than the individuals with TBI caused by accidents (83% vs 41%). The donor treatment period was lower in individuals who presented TBI by FAI. These individuals needed higher doses of noradrenaline as vasopressor support for their treatment, without showing a statistically significant difference (P = .15), compared with individuals whose BD cause was TBI caused by accident.

Epidemiologic and Evolutionary Profile of Patients With Subarachnoid Hemorrhage With Glasgow Coma Scale Score of 8 or Less Who Entered the Follow-Up Program of the National Institute of Donation and Transplantation.

INTRODUCTION: The improvement in understanding the process that determines the death of an individual and his or her evolution toward brain death allows organization and planning of health policies, optimization of clinical activity and management of organ and tissue procurement processes for transplantation. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to analyze the epidemiological and evolutionary profile of patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) with a Glasgow Coma Scale score (GCS) ≤8 who entered follow-up in the Neurocritical Patient Monitoring Program (SPN) of Instituto Nacional de Donación y Trasplante (INDT), Uruguay. MATERIALS AND METHODS: SPN, a monitoring and follow-up program for neurocritical patients with GCS ≤ 8, prospectively collected data from 5 public and private intensive care units. A total of 160 patients with SAH with GCS ≤8 in 10 years were identified and analyzed using a 2-step nested model. Firstly, independent risk factors for mortality were identified, tested in different combinations, and one of them was selected using the best correct classification rate. In the second step, risk factors for evolution to brain death were investigated. RESULTS: The mortality of patients with SAH with GCS ≤8 was 68%. Mortality for GCS 3 was 82%, significantly higher than for other values on the scale (P = .0025). Female sex (P = .011) and arterial hypertension (P = .017) were associated with higher mortality. There was no significant association between mortality and age, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation score, and Simplified Acute Physiologic Score II. Administration of analgesia and/or sedation was a protective factor (P < .0001). Of the patients who died, 50% were in brain death. We did not find clinical elements capable of identifying an increased probability of developing brain death. CONCLUSIONS: Based on epidemiological data, models capable of improving the understanding of the complex process of death and particularly brain death can be generated. More studies are needed to explore the differential evolutionary behavior of critical neurological illness.

Utility of Transcranial Doppler in the Coordination of Transplants: 10 Years of Experience.

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) integrated to multimodal neuromonitoring of neurocritical patients is a useful tool in the clinical follow-up. A retrospective and descriptive study of 194 patients who were admitted into the intensive care unit (ICU) was carried out from December 2007 to February 2017. We analyzed the distribution of study frequencies with respect to the pathologies that motivated them, the characteristics of patients who evolved to brain death (BD), and most frequent patterns of cerebral circulatory arrest. Ninety-four of the patients that evolved to BD required 126 studies during their follow-up. The insonation of the 2 middle cerebral arteries and the basilar artery was the most frequent combination (30%). Most frequent reasons of request for a TCD included apnea test intolerance and reduction of waiting time and sedation analgesia. These 10 years of experience have enabled a deeper understanding of the cerebral hemodynamics and the identification of common patterns of high resistance to different pathologies (subarachnoid hemorrhage, severe skull trauma, anoxic ischemia, ammonia encephalopathy) that explain the severity of the acute brain injury, related to the increase of brain volume and its deleterious consequence: the elevation of intracranial pressure (ICP). In the same way, because invasive ICP monitoring is not available in all cases, with a tomographic scan of the skull we have been able to observe a correlation of some imaging signs suggestive of intracranial hypertension with patterns of high resistance obtained by the TCD in the pathologies mentioned. We recommend that each ICU that assists neurocritical patients should have TCD equipment and the skilled personnel to carry out the technique.

Systodiastolic Separation Expresses Cerebral Circulatory Arrest?

There is a situation before the cerebral circulatory cessation phase, the systodiastolic separation in transcranial Doppler (TCD), which may raise doubts to the operator technician who performs it. A total of 266 studies were performed in 188 neurocritical patients over a 9-year period: 88 cases (77%) corresponded to cerebral circulatory arrest (CCA) which accompanies brain death (BD); 9 (5%) presented the systodiastolic separation pattern. In 1 of those 9 there was persistence of cough reflex and spontaneous breathing; in 5, CCA was not reached; only 3 evolved to CCA. The finding of a minimal persistent neurologic semiology is a categoric fact that would rule out the clinical correlation between this pattern and BD diagnosis.

Development of the National Kidney Transplantation Program in Uruguay.

The first kidney transplantation (KT) in Uruguay was performed in 1969. We report the rates of KT and survival of patients and grafts up to December 2014. The country has a surface of 176,215 km(2) and a population of 3,286,314 inhabitants (18.6 inhabitants per km(2)). Till December 31, 2014, 1,940 KT have been performed in Uruguay (41.8 pmp that year); 90.4% of them were from cadaveric donors (CD). Median age of recipients (R) was 44 ± 14 years; R older than 55 years increased from 0 to 27% during the period. Our pre-emptive KT program started in 2007. Optimal donors (D) decreased from 65.2% to 35.5%, and D older than 45 years old increased from 9% to 37%. Trauma as cause of death decreased from 49% to 32% and stroke as cause of death increased from 25% to 39%. Patient survival rates at 1, 5, and 8 years were 93%, 87%, and 78%, respectively for KT performed between 1980 and 1989; they were 98%, 93%, and 89%, respectively, for KT performed between 1990 and1999; they were 97%, 91%, and 90%, respectively, for KT performed between 2000 and 2010. In December 2013, there were 1098 patients pmp in renal replacement therapy, 758 pmp in dialysis, and 340 pmp (30.9%) with a functioning graft. Our national KT program is mainly based (90.6%) on cadaveric donation. Epidemiological changes in the characteristics of R and D followed the changes in aging that occurred in the general population and the dialysis population. The survival rates from patients and kidneys are similar to those reported by the European and the American registries.

Donation rates: what matters?

INTRODUCTION: The increase in the number of donors is the main objective of all transplantation organizations around the world. Further understanding of the factors involved in increasing donation rates is very important for planning future strategies to improve outcomes in each country. OBJECTIVE AND METHOD: With this purpose we analyzed the relationship between social and economic factors of the countries and organizational aspects of health systems and institutions dedicated to transplantation in relation to the number of actual donors per million population. We analyzed rates of deceased donors per million population of Latin America, North America, and Europe (20 countries) and correlated them with the human development index and its most important indicators. We also studied the correlation with spending on health and organizational aspects of the health system. RESULTS: On the one hand, we found that donation rates (DRs) per million population (pmp) were not statistically significantly correlated with the human development index (significant correlation 0.61 and 0.181). There is a correlation, albeit weak, between observed donation rates and gross domestic product (GDP) of each country (significance, 0.04; correlation, 0.46). On the other hand, there exists a strong correlation between the percentage of GDP spent on health and DRs pmp (significance, 0.01; correlation, 0.53). Those countries with an integrated national health system (P = .01) and a higher percentage of hospitals with intrahospital transplantation coordinators (P = .001) had higher DRs pmp. CONCLUSIONS: The best DRs are closely linked to organizational aspects of the donation system in particular and the health system in general. There is a weak correlation between observed DRs and socio-economic and development indicators of countries. These data should be taken into account in planning future strategies to increase DRs, health plan policies, and investments.

Transcranial Doppler in the diagnosis of cerebral circulatory arrest: cases of the National Institute of Donation and Transplantation of Uruguay.

BACKGROUND: Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is an auxiliary method for the diagnosis of cerebral circulatory arrest (CCA). The objective of this work was to appreciate the efficiency of the method in the diagnosis of the CCA and its outcome in situations such as decompressive craniectomy (DC). METHODS: In this descriptive, retrospective study, conducted between 2000 and 2012, variables considered were causes of brain death (BD), age, sex, application reason, CCA patterns, and CCA patterns in DC. As a statistical approach, Pearson χ(2) distribution was used. A total of 522 cases were analyzed; mean patient age was 30 ± 19 years, and 61% were men. RESULTS: The principal causes of BD were traumatic brain injury, 44%; subarachnoid hemorrhage, 20%; and post-cardiac arrest anoxic ischemic injury, 17%. TCD was requested by contraindication to apnea testing in 84% of cases, and it diagnosed CCA in 79%. The most frequent pattern of CCA was the systolic spike (70%). CCA was diagnosed in patients with DC in 43% (23/54) compared with 79% (369/468) in those patients without this procedure (P = .0001), with the systolic spike being the most frequent pattern (48%). CONCLUSIONS: TCD is a useful and highly specific tool for the diagnosis of CCA that occurs with BD, diminishing its performance significantly in patients with DC.

A model to predict progression in brain-injured patients.

INTRODUCTION: The study of brain death (BD) epidemiology and the acute brain injury (ABI) progression profile is important to improve public health programs, organ procurement strategies, and intensive care unit (ICU) protocols. The purpose of this study was to analyze the ABI progression profile among patients admitted to ICUs with a Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) ≤8, as well as establishing a prediction model of probability of death and BD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of prospective data that included all brain-injured patients with GCS ≤8 admitted to a total of four public and private ICUs in Uruguay (N = 1447). The independent predictor factors of death and BD were studied using logistic regression analysis. A hierarchical model consisting of 2 nested logit regression models was then created. With these models, the probabilities of death, BD, and death by cardiorespiratory arrest were analyzed. RESULTS: In the first regression, we observed that as the GCS decreased and age increased, the probability of death rose. Each additional year of age increased the probability of death by 0.014. In the second model, however, BD risk decreased with each year of age. The presence of swelling, mass effect, and/or space-occupying lesion increased BD risk for the same given GCS. In the presence of injuries compatible with intracranial hypertension, age behaved as a protective factor that reduced the probability of BD. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the analysis of the local epidemiology, a model to predict the probability of death and BD can be developed. The organ potential donation of a country, region, or hospital can be predicted on the basis of this model, customizing it to each specific situation.

Ventricular dysfunction associated with brain trauma is cause for exclusion of young heart donors.

OBJECTIVE: Ventricular dysfunction (VD) in the context of brain death (BD) is one medical cause that may be reversed to extend the range of donors for cardiac transplant programs. The aim of this study was to identify and quantify the causes for exclusion of potential heart donors and to define risk factors for VD among the BD population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study of 100 heart-beating potential donors defined subjects as those younger than 50 years. We defined hemodynamic dysfunction (HD) as failure to achieve hemodynamic objectives despite the use of inotropic agents by protocol or upon diagnosing VD. RESULTS: Among 246 BD subjects were 100 potential heart donors. Of these, 75 were transformed into real donors (RD) including 13 heart RD and 62 noncardiac RD. The conversion rate of BD subjects younger than 50 years to heart RD was 17%. When we analyzed the medical reasons for exclusion of the 62 donors who were not converted to heart RD, we observed that HD was the major cause (34%). When we analyzed the causes for exclusion related to cause of death, cranial trauma predominated (52%; P = .01; relative risk 3.5; 95% confidence interval 1.4-8.5). CONCLUSION: Hemodynamic dysfunction represented the major cause for loss of heart donors; it was associated with younger patients with cranial trauma.

International indicators of donation and solid organ transplantation.

The main goal of any organ procurement organization (OPO) is to offer the greatest number of organs achievable with the goal of reducing mortality and the waiting list time of patients. Evaluation of OPO activity is mandatory to identify causes of missed potential donors seeking to implement changes in steps susceptible of improvement. In this review, we have presented the classical indicators of brain death along with new indicators. We observed that when the donor generation capacity is adjusted to the deaths, the indicator is more reliable for comparisons of countries with different mortality rates. We concluded that the indicators are complementary, because they measure different aspects of the process. To have a better understanding of the situation, country, institution, or hospital, one should simultaneously use all of the indicators.

Brain death epidemiology in Uruguay and utilization of the Glasgow coma score in acute brain injured patients as a predictor of brain death.

OBJECTIVE: The knowledge of brain death (BD) epidemiology and the acute brain injury (ABI) progression profile are relevant to improve public health programs, organ procurement strategies, as well as intensive care unit (ICU) protocols aiming to increase the detection of potential donors. The aim of this study was to analyze the BD epidemiology and the ABI progression profile among subjects admitted to ICUs with a Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) < or = 8. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospective, observational study of BD reported to the National Institute of Donation and Transplantation from 2000-2006. The patients with ABI and GCS < or = 8 who were admitted to 5 ICUs with In-hospital Transplant Coordination were analyzed over the period of 2005-2007. RESULTS: The BD detection increased from 28.7 in 2000 to 58.5 BD pmp in 2006. The real donor global rate increased from 10 to 24.6 pmp from 2000 to 2006. The ABI patients with GCS < or = 8 had a global mortality rate of 56%, including 23.4% who evolved to BD. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed a 200% increment of detected BD and 150% of real donors, although these results are still below the international figures. GCS follow-up appeared to be a good tool to predict the BD outcome. The follow-up of patients with ABI allowed us to improve our BD detection strategy.

Three decades of the history of donation and transplantation in Uruguay.

AIM: The aim of this study was to analyze the evolution of the legal framework, health system of donation, and transplantation of cells, tissues, and organs, measured based on processes and rates from 1978 to 2008 in Uruguay. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed 3 decades (1978-1988/1989-1998/1999-2008) by the following evaluation: the legislation, donation and transplantation system, procurement, registration of pre-state of voluntary donations, actual donations and transplantation rates of solid organs (kidneys, heart, liver, and pancreas), and rates of donation and transplantation of tissues (corneal and laminar [skin, amniotic membrane, and fascialata]), of cardiovascular elements (valves and vases), and of ostearticular tissues (bones and tendons). RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Uruguay has maintained continuous governmental politics in donation and transplantation. In the last decade the elaboration of a strategic plan by promoting Laws and Decrees of Encephalic Death, Presumed Donation and Security of Cells and Tissues, as well as the creation of the Unit Procurement, the registration of nonrelated donors for hematopoietic stem cells, and the re-engineering of tissue banking, has shown a significant increase in deceased donation and cadaveric transplantation, reaching the first highest overall donor rate in Latin America with 24/pmp multiorgan donors.

Organ donation in Latin America.

Recently in Latin America, there has been a strong influence of the "Spanish model" of organ procurement. In 2001, The "Punta Cana Group" was created by Latin American transplantation coordinators with the objective of registering and improving the system of donation and procurement. In many countries there is no universal financial support from the government for medical treatment, including dialysis and transplantation. In other countries there is complete financial support for all of the population, including immunosuppressive drugs. Practically all countries have transplantation laws that follow ethical concepts, such as brain death diagnosis criteria, forms of consent, criteria of allocation, and inhibition of commerce. The rate of potential donors notified in countries that perform transplantations with deceased donors varied from 6 to 47 per million population yearly (pmp/y); The rate of effective donors varied from 1 to 20 pmp. In 2004, the mean rate of effective donors in Latin America was 5.4 pmp. The family refusal rate for the donation of organs varied from 28% in Uruguay to 70% in Peru. In some countries, such as Puerto Rico, Uruguay, and Cuba, it was more than 15 pmp, whereas in others countries deceased donors were practically not used. The number of patients on the waiting list for solid organ transplants in 12 Latin American countries is 55,000. Although the donation rate has increased by 100% during the last 10 years, it is lower than that in Europe (15 pmm/y) or the United States (20 pmp/y).

Activity of transplant coordination in Uruguay.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the evolution of donation and organ transplantation in Uruguay, after the initiation of a program of transplant coordination, which began in 2000. The total number of effective donors increased from 28.7 per million people (pmp) in 2000 to 48.1 pmp in 2005, which constituted an increase of 75%. The number of real donors also increased from 10 pmp in 2000 to 20.6 pmp in 2005, more than a 100% increase, with a cadaveric renal transplantation rate of 36 pmp (2005). The conversion of effective to real donors (RD/ED) increased from 0.125 to 0.42. Familial refusal decreased from 62.1% in 2000 to 19% in 2005, which constituted a decrease of 70%. We concluded that implementation of transplant coordinators and involvement of intensive care medical doctors in coordination have had a strong impact on these results.

Brain death: epidemiology and quality control of solid organ donor generation.

Successful solid organ transplant programs need effective organ procurement systems. Evaluating and maintaining the quality of an organ procurement system requires multilevel institutional coordination as well as reliable information regarding potential donors. The objective of this study was to analyze the potential to generate adult solid organ donors at a countrywide level as well as at individual hospital levels in Uruguay from 2000 to 2002. The analyzed factors included: encephalic deaths (brain deaths) officially registered by the National Bank of Organs and Tissues (BNOT), the distribution of these individuals among the intensive care units (ICUs) located at various hospitals, the number of Real Donors at each hospital, and the relation between the brain deaths and the number of ICU beds equipped with artificial respirators. The Uruguayan solid organ donation rate is relatively high among Latin American Countries, but low in relation to developed countries. The conversion of potential donors to actual donors is similar to that seen in developed countries. However, the registered incidence of brain deaths in relation to the number of ICU beds is surprisingly below the recognized standard figure. To approach the reasons for this difference, efficient quality control mechanisms are needed in the various ICUs as well as comprehensive medical case history reviews of all patient records.

[Ischemic cadiopathy in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis]. / Cardiopatía isquémica en pacientes en hemodiálisis crónica.

UNLABELLED: We report a retrospective study of patients on chronic hemodialysis in whom a diagnosis of ischemic heart disease had been established. We compared the findings on coronary cineangiography and the treatment (medical only, surgical revascularisation [CABG] and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty [PTCA]) with the early and late evolution. From a population of 2,287 patients on chronic hemodialysis treatment during the 5 year period 1994-1999, 83 patients who underwent coronary cineangiography after starting dialysis were selected. Their mean age was 63 +/- 9.4 (39-80) and the mean time on hemodialysis was 6 years (6 months-19 years). RESULTS: 65 patients (78%) had severe coronary lesions, 40% of whom had three vessel disease. 14 patients had medical treatment only (group 1), 23 had CABG (group 2) and 28 PTCA (group 3). Mortality within 30 days of intervention was 13% in group 2 and 21.4% in group 3. Global survival at two years was 82% in group 2 and 69% in group 3. Survival without angina at 6 and 24 months were 69% and 46% in group 2 and 55% and 22% in group 3 respectively. Survival without acute myocardial infarction at 6 and 24 months was 95% and 95% in group 2 and 89% and 64% in group 3. Data analysis using Cox proportional risk model showed that PTCA posed a higher risk of angina and death than CABG. CONCLUSION: Surgery yielded better early and later results than angioplasty even in those patients with severe coronary artery disease.