The Presence of Relatives during Brainstem Death Testing in an Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

The issue of allowing relatives to witness brainstem death testing has sparked debate between all members of the multidisciplinary team working in intensive care. A literature search was carried out, highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of relatives observing brainstem death testing. Databases searched were the NHS Knowledge Network, OVID, CINAHL, the Cochrane Library, and Medline. Search items included: brainstem death, brainstem death testing, brain death, intensive care, relatives, families and witnessed cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Articles which were under ten years old were included; however articles which were pertinent to the topic were not excluded if outside this timeframe.

Keywords

brainstem death testing relatives intensive care unit witnessed testing brainstem death

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