Kaste M, Hillbom M, Palo J
Br Med J. 1979 Feb 24;1(6162):525-7. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.6162.525.
Finland was the first country in which brain death was legally accepted. Since 1975, 37 cases of brain death had been recorded in a university hospital in Finland, and these were reviewed. The cause for brain death was intracranial bleeding in 32 cases, other cerebrovascular disorder in two, and intracranial neoplasm in three. In 21 brain death was diagnosed clinically. In 16 cases confirmatory investigations (electroencephalography, cerebral angiography) were needed. After brain death had been established artificial support was withdrawn in 15 patients and organ transplantation was carried out in 10. In 12 patients, however, diagnosis of brain death did not influence management, though the heart stopped beating on average 25 hours after diagnosis. The Finnish criteria for brain death seem to be reliable and suitable for routine use.
芬兰是首个在法律上接受脑死亡的国家。自1975年以来，芬兰一家大学医院记录了37例脑死亡病例，并对这些病例进行了回顾。脑死亡的原因是颅内出血32例，其他脑血管疾病2例，颅内肿瘤3例。21例脑死亡是临床诊断的。16例需要进行确诊检查（脑电图、脑血管造影）。脑死亡确诊后，15例患者停止了人工支持，10例进行了器官移植。然而，在12例患者中，脑死亡的诊断并未影响治疗，尽管平均在诊断后25小时心脏停止跳动。芬兰的脑死亡标准似乎可靠且适合常规使用。
