Would there be a reason to wait several days to take someone off the ventilator? I understand that some people would want to wait for a miracle, but is there a medical reason to do so?
There is a set of criteria for brain death which was developed by neurologists at Harvard. During the time I was employed as an RN in the ICU of a community hospital this set of criteria was adopted by our hospital. The idea behind the Harvard criteria was to try to set a standard among acute care facilities in order to accurately determine brain death, and to document accurately the patient's status to address whether brain death had occurred. Here are the criteria:Harvard criteria A series of 4 parameters delineated by the the Harvard Medical School ad hoc committee for irreversible coma
Harvard criteria for brain death
• Unreceptivity and unresponsiveness
• No movement or breathing
• No reflexes
• Flat electroencephalogram (confirmatory)
In addition, the following must be present
• Body temperature ≥32º C
• Absence of CNS depressants
McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Most hospitals still utilize these criteria. If, tragically, she has no brain activity on her EEG I doubt anything definitive will be heard until tomorrow. Tomorrow will mark the third day, and if she meets the criteria the physician and medical team will most likely discuss with the family the diagnosis of brain death, and will discuss with them options - taking her off the ventilator or, even worse, IMO, placing her in a long term facility. Under the current reimbursement guidelines, patients declared brain dead are no longer eligible for acute care as the prognosis allows for no improvement. The silence is deafening, and I truly fear this is where this tragic case is headed. My heart aches for this young girl as she grew up with poor role models, even though her parents both loved her dearly. All the money in her estate could not heal her emotional wounds, and it saddens me beyond words that it looks very bleak for her to survive this and overcome the deep wounds in her heart.
BBM
If reports are true that she is in a medically induced coma, she would be ineligible for testing for brain death. Also the case if she has significant brain swelling at this time.
I'm guessing the "no breathing" criteria would be tested by an apnea test.
The "no movement" criteria is puzzling to me, as it is possible for a brain dead patient to move due to spinal-mediated reflexes.
Would there be a reason to wait several days to take someone off the ventilator? I understand that some people would want to wait for a miracle, but is there a medical reason to do so?
http://www.eonline.com/news/497682/bobbi-kristina-brown-and-nick-gordon-happily-married they say they are married. Does anyone think that maybe her husband isn't allowed in, that perhaps the authorities/family are suspicious of him?
Sometimes they wait for family members who are far away to get there. Also, if she is not brain dead but extremely brain damaged, there may be a dispute about whether or not to discontinue life support. They may need time to determine what BK's wishes were, and who legally is the person with the right to make that decision.
Those are just a couple of reasons I can think of off the top of my head.
I don't think suspicions would be enough to override his right to be there and his right to make decisions on her behalf, if they are legally married.
Her maternal Grandmother Cissy lives in NJ where the weather is compromising flights out.
This is why i suspect her medical condition may be clear but no decisions have been made yet because of personalities... Which would be disturbing.
LE can come in and remove disruptive family members, though staff would probably do all they can to mediate and work out a plan where everyone can agree and be satisfied....
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