Neurológia pre prax 4/2017

Diagnosing brain death using transcranial Doppler and transcranial duplex sonography

In 2014, transcranial Doppler (TCD) / colour-coded duplex sonography (TCCS) was included among auxiliary methods for detecting cerebral circulatory arrest when determining brain death in the Czech Republic. The mainstay of diagnosing cerebral circulatory arrest is the evaluation of haemodynamic parameters in the intracranial arteries, i.e. flow direction, flow velocities, and pulsatility and/or resistance indexes. The article describes the methodology for detection of cerebral circulatory arrest using TCD and TCCS which is based on the methodology of the Neurosonological Committee of the Czech Neurological Society of the Czech Medical Association of Jan Evangelista Purkyně.

Keywords: sonography, transcranial Doppler, brain death, intracranial hypertension