Orbital doppler ultrasound as an ancillary test for diagnosing brain death: A prospective, single blind comparative study.

OBJECTIVE: Transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TDUS), computed tomography angiography (CTA), and transcranial Doppler ultrasound to detect cerebral blood flow are among the adjunctive tests in diagnosing brain death. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of orbital doppler ultrasound (ODUS).

METHODS: This prospective, single-blind study included 66 patients for whom brain death was to be diagnosed. Primary outcome measures were ODUS measurements, Ophthalmic artery peak systolic velocity (PSV), end-diastolic velocity (EDV), and resistive indices (RI) measurements recorded during the brain death determination process. Secondary outcome measures were computed tomography angio (CTA), transcranial Doppler ultrasound (TDUS), and demographic data.

RESULTS: This study investigating the effectiveness of ODUS in diagnosing brain death provided diagnostic success with 100% sensitivity and 93% specificity compared to CT angiography. It was noted that anatomical variations may limit its use.

CONCLUSION: ODUS was found to have high sensitivity and specificity in the diagnosis of clinical brain death. It may assist in early prognostic assessment and shorten patient follow-up and diagnostic processes.