Pupillometric Evaluation in Patients Declared Brain Dead (INSPECT) - a Prospective Quality Control Study

Objectives: The aim of the study is to verify the reliability of the current purely clinical examination of the pupils (without the support of a pupillometer) in the context of clinically suspected brain death, compared to the results of a non-invasive, automated, and highly precise monocular pupillometric examination.

Methods: This prospective quality control study will evaluate the reliability of the clinical exam regarding pupils' reaction to light (as performed by two board certified physicians in Neurology and/or Intensive Care Medicine) as recommended by the SAMW guidelines for brain death diagnosis (SAMW-guidelines) when compared to the results of a noninvasive automated and highly-precise pupillometry in adult patients with clinically suspected brain death. Automated pupillometric measurements will be performed by the PI (RS), or the co-investigator (Dr. Pascale Grzonka) using the NeurOptics® NPi®-200 pupillometer system immediately before and after the standardized diagnostic workup for suspected brain death. In addition, demographics, clinical characteristics , treatment and laboratory data from the patients examined will be anonymously collected.