removal from life support question

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Is it normal for a patient that has been ruled brain dead to have seizure after life support has been removed?

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I have not the vaguest about normal but it's possible.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

Doesn't always happen but it can happen.

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Specializes in SICU/CVICU.

One cannot have seizures if they are truely brain dead

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One cannot have seizures if they are truely brain dead

I knew you were going to go there. Yes in FACT the body can seize up and not have it come from the brain at all. Keep educating yourself.

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Specializes in Trauma Surgical ICU.
I knew you were going to go there. Yes in FACT the body can seize up and not have it come from the brain at all. Keep educating yourself.

Can you provide a link ?? I would love to read more about it.. I work in the Trauma ICU, and that is one thing I have not seen yet, even tho brain death happens frequently.

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Specializes in SICU/CVICU.
I knew you were going to go there. Yes in FACT the body can seize up and not have it come from the brain at all. Keep educating yourself.

A seizure is the result of abnormal electrical activity in the brain. If one is brain dead, there is no electrical activity, therefore no seizure.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.
I knew you were going to go there. Yes in FACT the body can seize up and not have it come from the brain at all. Keep educating yourself.

Really? Please provide some evidence based rationale for your response. Maybe you should "keep educating yourself" regarding seizures and brain death.....

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Can you provide a link ?? I would love to read more about it.. I work in the Trauma ICU, and that is one thing I have not seen yet, even tho brain death happens frequently.

Ok, well that started me looking. At the moment I can find others that know it's possible for a brain dead person to have seizures not originating from the brain but there just .coms as credible a source as me. I'll keep looking and, yea, I'll keep educating.

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Specializes in ICU and EMS.

I've seen what the intensivists have called myoclonus (not technically seizures, but seizure like in appearane) in people declared brain dead from brain flow scans.

They usually only involve one muscle or muscle group at a time and just looks likes twitching.

Is that what you're talking about?

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Really? Please provide some evidence based rationale for your response. Maybe you should "keep educating yourself" regarding seizures and brain death.....

ha ha.

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Specializes in SICU/CVICU.
ha ha.

In the brain dead patient, myoclonus originates in the spinal cord. It is not a seizure because, by definition, a seizure originates in the brain.

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