Nuklearmed Nucl Med
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Nuklearmed Nucl Med · Jun 1976
Case Reports Comparative Study[Demonstration total brain infarct with radioisotope angiography].
In the field of organ transplantation and in brain death patients where intensive-care measures may seem superfluous, the demonstration of cessation of cerebral blood flow by X-ray angiography is generally agreed to be the diagnostic procedure of choice to prove irreversible loss of cerebral function. There are, however, certain drawbacks involved in X-ray angiography. Arterial puncture is necessary. ⋯ In 12 patients with extremely reduced cerebral blood flow it was demonstrated that the RIA findings were clearly different from those obtained at brain death. Moreover, not one of 438 other patients undergoing RIA exhibited the same features which were associated with brain death. The authors conclude that RIA involves the same degree of safety as X-ray angiography in the diagnosis of total brain infarction but is superior to the latter when the diagnostic procedure has to be performed quickly, thus reducing the risk of any further damage to a prospective donor organ.