Polish Guidelines on Diagnosing Brain Death in Adults vs the International Perspective: Are We in Need of an Update?

Introduction: The Polish definition of brain death originated from the original Harvard criteria and has been revised several times. Practitioners worldwide are required to regularly update their national guidelines on the definition of brain death to fit the latest international research concerning this topic.

Aims: (1) Compare current Polish guidelines on diagnosing brain death in adults with the American, British, Australian, and New Zealand recommendations; and (2) evaluate existing differences for the purposes of updating the Polish guidelines.

Materials: Current guidelines on diagnosing brain death published by The American Academy of Neurology (USA, 2010), the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (United Kingdom, 2008), the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society (AU/NZ, 2013), and the Polish Ministry of Health (Poland, 2007).

Results: All guidelines outline similar recommendations regarding the need for a suitable observation period before clinical examination and for basic medical conditions and exclusions to be evaluated before testing, the obligatory role of clinical examination including brain stem reflexes and apnea testing, and the nonobligatory role of ancillary tests. There is no consensus regarding: the recommended time period of pretesting observation, the number, seniority, and specialty of clinicians performing the testing, the role of additional exclusion criteria, the repeatability of clinical tests, the methodology of apnea testing, and recommended confirmatory tests.

Conclusions: Current Polish guidelines on diagnosing brain death in adults remain up-to-date in comparison to the guidelines analyzed, though additional recommendations concerning apnea testing, drug and toxin clearance, and medical exclusion criteria for potential brain dead patients might be considered an important point of interest in the future.