Brain death in infants: sensitivity and specificity of current criteria.

Guidelines for the determination of brain death in children were recently published by a multidisciplinary task force. We report a 3-month-old female who fulfilled these criteria but regained partial cortical and brainstem function for a prolonged period. This patient and similar newborn patients are analyzed with respect to sensitivity and specificity of the suggested criteria. Caution is recommended in assuming irreversibility of absent cerebral function in young infants, even beyond the neonatal period.