This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA

Rebecca Voelker

JAMA. 2000;283:734.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

While disturbing to family members and health care professionals, spontaneous movement in patients diagnosed with brain death may be more common than previously realized.

In the January 11 issue of Neurology, researchers from Argentina and Spain reported on movement in patients who showed no brain activity on electroencephalogram tests. The Argentinean study included 38 patients diagnosed with brain death during an 18-month period. Fifteen, or 39%, had motor movements such as bending of toes or jerking of fingers. In all cases, movement occurred in the first 24 hours after the diagnosis; no movements were seen after 72 hours.

The study from Spain described movements in a 30-year-old woman and an 11-month-old child. Both extended their arms, flexed their wrists, and curled up their fingers each time a mechanical ventilator inflated their lungs. José Bueri, MD, of J. M. Ramos Mejia Hospital in Buenos Aires, said the movements . . . [Full Text of this Article]