For our topic for today, brain death. As the authors of the 2023 updated guidelines very eloquently put, determination that a patient meets neurological criteria for brain death is a medical responsibility that leads to a legal declaration. Now, brain death, or death by neurological criteria, is said to have happened or occurred when a person or an individual suffers a catastrophic brain injury that results in permanent and complete loss of brain function. And this is probably the most simplistic way of putting this and there are many nuances to this concept that our speakers will be talking about in today's sessions. Now, as critical care professionals, it is imperative that we have a broad and deep knowledge of this concept because of the profound impact that it has on the care that we provide for our patients. So why is learning about brain death important? Because the knowledge about brain death helps clinicians make accurate and appropriate determinations and decisions to provide the best patient care. The concept of brain death, it raises complex medical issues around continuing life support and organ donation and healthcare professionals need to be well-informed to navigate these sensitive decisions and discussions and communicate to families with sensitivity. Studies show that there's a significant variability in healthcare professionals' understanding of brain death. So standardized education ensures that we provide consistent, high-quality care across different settings, providers, and it also helps professionals understand and follow the relevant laws and guidelines in their area. Finally, understanding brain death is critical for organ donation purposes, which again brings us back to providing the best possible care for our patients in every setting. Now, the definition of brain death has evolved significantly over time, driven mostly by advances in medical technology and in critical care. Initially, death was defined as a cessation in heartbeat and in breathing. In the 1950s to 60s, with advancement in resuscitation and mechanical ventilation, patients could be kept alive despite severe brain damage, necessitating a new definition of death. From the definition of irreversible coma in the 60s, which was refined to brainstem death in the 1970s and 80s, the American Academy of Neurology provided updated guidelines in 2010, emphasizing the need for standardized criteria. In 2011, pediatric brain death guidelines were put out. And finally, in 2023, the updated integrated adult pediatric guidelines for brain death or determination of death by neurological criteria were published. That brings us to our deep dive today. We are going to have a master class on brain death, reviewing it in detail and focusing on these new guidelines that were published in 2023 to determine brain death or death by neurological criteria in both pediatric and in adult patients. We learn about these updated, evidence-informed and consensus-based guidelines for pediatric and adult brain death determination. And we have four esteemed renowned speakers here today who are all content experts and all of whom were involved very closely in the process of publishing, writing and publishing these new guidelines.

brain death

catastrophic brain injury

healthcare professionals

life support

organ donation