--- description: The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has collaborated to update the latest guidelines for brain death in both children and adults. title: Latest Guidelines For Brain Death - The Virginia Trial Firm canonical: https://virginiatrialfirm.com/blog/latest-guidelines-for-brain-death/ date_published: 2024-01-03T15:23:24+00:00 date_modified: 2025-08-01T03:19:23+00:00 practice_area: blog --- - Latest Guidelines For Brain Death - The Virginia Trial Firm [Skip to content](#content) # Latest Guidelines For Brain Death In collaboration with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Child Neurology Society (CBS), and Society for Critical Care Medicine (SCCM), the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) has updated the evidence and consensus-based guideline for pediatric and adult brain death/death by neurologic criteria (BD/DNC) determination. The 2023 guideline uses the term BD/DNC instead of the term “brain death” to acknowledge both how it’s normally referenced by most people and to draw parallels to death by cardiopulmonary criteria. It also uses the term “permanent” rather than “irreversible” to describe the severity of brain injury necessary to determine BD/DNC. It interprets death as a “loss of function of the brain as a whole, including the brainstem, resulting in coma, brainstem areflexia, and apnea.” ![MRI of brain : brain injury in the left lobe](https://cdn-enhik.nitrocdn.com/PtWhdKFPEeclDcOWLqiCgcuiKvdeYeHi/assets/images/optimized/rev-655816e/virginiatrialfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/iStock-535910165-1024x683.webp) One of the most significant changes was the decision that EEG is not an acceptable test for either pediatric or adult BD/DNC determination because of a concern that while it assesses function of the cerebral cortex, it does not evaluate brainstem function. New topics in the 2023 guidelines include elevated intracranial pressure, targeted temperature management treatment, and the use of ECMO (extracorporeal membrane oxygenation), a form of life support for people with life-threatening illnesses or injuries that impair heart or lung function. Read more here: [https://cp.neurology.org/content/13/6/e200189](https://cp.neurology.org/content/13/6/e200189) Comas are among the most devastating effects an injury can create, and the full breadth of the injury must be understood by the legal team seeking justice; our experienced personal injury lawyers can co-counsel on these complicated cases; call us. [Stephanie Grana](https://virginiatrialfirm.com/blog/author/stephanie-grana/) - [Brain Injury](https://virginiatrialfirm.com/blog/category/brain-injury/) Share This Post ![MRI of brain : brain injury in the left lobe](https://cdn-enhik.nitrocdn.com/PtWhdKFPEeclDcOWLqiCgcuiKvdeYeHi/assets/images/optimized/rev-655816e/virginiatrialfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/iStock-535910165-1024x683.webp) #### On This Page ### Contact Us ### Recent Posts ### [Back to School After a Brain Injury: What Every Parent Needs to Know](https://virginiatrialfirm.com/blog/back-to-school-after-a-brain-injury-what-every-parent-needs-to-know/) The Virginia Trial Firm July 28, 2026 [Read More »](https://virginiatrialfirm.com/blog/back-to-school-after-a-brain-injury-what-every-parent-needs-to-know/) [![all partners at cgbb](https://cdn-enhik.nitrocdn.com/PtWhdKFPEeclDcOWLqiCgcuiKvdeYeHi/assets/images/optimized/rev-655816e/virginiatrialfirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/all-partners-photo-300x163.webp)](https://virginiatrialfirm.com/blog/more-than-a-law-firm-investing-in-the-communities-where-virginia-families-learn-grow-and-thrive/) ### [More Than a Law Firm: Investing in the Communities Where Virginia Families Learn, Grow, and Thrive](https://virginiatrialfirm.com/blog/more-than-a-law-firm-investing-in-the-communities-where-virginia-families-learn-grow-and-thrive/) The Virginia Trial Firm July 20, 2026 [Read More »](https://virginiatrialfirm.com/blog/more-than-a-law-firm-investing-in-the-communities-where-virginia-families-learn-grow-and-thrive/) ### [Cantor Grana Buckner Bucci Partners Stephanie Grana and Elliott Buckner Named Among Virginia’s Top 5 Personal Injury Plaintiff Super Lawyers® for 2026](https://virginiatrialfirm.com/blog/cgbb-super-lawyers-2026-top-5-personal-injury-plaintiff-virginia-2/) The Virginia Trial Firm June 9, 2026 [Read More »](https://virginiatrialfirm.com/blog/cgbb-super-lawyers-2026-top-5-personal-injury-plaintiff-virginia-2/) ### [Attention, Memory, and the Aging Brain: New Research on Focus, Recall, and Emotional Memory](https://virginiatrialfirm.com/blog/attention-memory-and-the-aging-brain-new-research-on-focus-recall-and-emotional-memory/) The Virginia Trial Firm June 4, 2026 [Read More »](https://virginiatrialfirm.com/blog/attention-memory-and-the-aging-brain-new-research-on-focus-recall-and-emotional-memory/) Get Started Right Away! 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