Transcranial Doppler and Color‐Coded Doppler Use for Brain Death Determination in Adult Patients: A Pictorial Essay
Cristian Deana, Daniele Guerino Biasucci, Raffaele Aspide, Sérgio Brasil, Marco Vergano, Francesca Leonardis, Ermal Rica, Gianmaria Cammarota, Mario Dauri, Giuseppe Vetrugno, Federico Longhini, Salvatore Maurizio Maggiore, Frank Rasulo, Luigi Vetrugno
Abstract
Transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a repeatable, at-the-bedside, helpful tool for confirming cerebral circulatory arrest (CCA). Despite its variable accuracy, TCD is increasingly used during brain death determination, and it is considered among the optional ancillary tests in several countries. Among its limitations, the need for skilled operators with appropriate knowledge of typical CCA patterns and the lack of adequate acoustic bone windows for intracranial arteries assessment are critical. The purpose of this review is to describe how to evaluate cerebral circulatory arrest in the intensive care unit with TCD and transcranial duplex color-coded doppler (TCCD).