[Brain death and intraocular pressure].

The article reports on the changing behaviour of the intraocular pressure of 20 patients who had a severe head injury. Eight patients survived; in this group intraocular pressure was always normal. Twelve patients developed brain death, and in contrast to the group of survivors all of them had intraocular hypotension. Papilloedema was never seen in funduscopic examinations; however, we found signs of fundus ischaemia in most patients who had died of brain death.