CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne
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Comparative Study
Incidence of neurologic death among patients with brain injury: a cohort study in a Canadian health region.
Hospital mortality has decreased over time for critically ill patients with various forms of brain injury. We hypothesized that the proportion of patients who progress to neurologic death may have also decreased. ⋯ The proportion of patients with brain injury who progress to neurologic death has decreased over time, especially among those with head trauma. This finding may reflect positive developments in the prevention and care of brain injury. However, organ donation after neurologic death represents the major source of organs for transplantation. Thus, these findings may help explain the relatively stagnant rates of deceased organ donation in some regions of Canada, which in turn has important implications for the care of patients with end-stage organ failure.