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Christopher M. De Giorgio, MD
Department of Neurology University of Southern California School of Medicine 2025 Zonal Ave Los Angeles, CA 90033

Arch Neurol. 1989;46(6):602-603.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.

—Grigg et al¹ reported in the September 1987 issue of the ARCHIVES the phenomenon of persistent electroencephalographic (EEG) activity following "brain death."1 Their conclusion, that EEG is of questionable value as a confirmatory test of brain death, is not completely supported by the data presented. For example, of 11 patients in whom EEG activity persisted after brain death, only 6 had undergone radionucleotide cerebral perfusion scans to confirm brain death. In fact, one such scan revealed good cerebral flow. Therefore, in 5 patients, the only measure of the validity of EEG in the confirmation of brain death was the bedside examination. The validity of a confirmatory test (ie, EEG) cannot be assessed by the very entity that needs to be confirmed. Rather, a confirmatory test must be compared with another test of equal or better specificity, such as angiography or radionucleotide cerebral perfusion scanning.

The lack . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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