Characteristics of the Study Sites and Patients at Baseline
respiratory disease, aneurysm, meningitis, hypoxia, stroke, cirrhosis, brain injury, obstructive, or vascular disease, coma, polycythemia, hypercapnia, venous artery malformation, trauma
RESPIRATORY DISEASE, CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE, PORTAL HYPERTENSION, ANEURYSM, HEPATIC INSUFFICIENCY, MENINGITIS, HYPOXIA, BRAIN DEATH, CIRRHOSIS, BRAIN TUMOR, STROKE, ENCEPHALOPATHY, SUBARACHNOID HEMORRHAGE, COMA, POLYCYTHEMIA, PULMONARY HYPERTENSION
Abbreviations: ICU, intensive care unit; LOS, length of stay; SAPS, Simplified Acute Physiology Score; SOFA, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment.Identified at the time of the first clinical examination.Number of annual brain death notifications considered the percentage of brain-dead potential donors clinically managed in the ICU.Chronic respiratory disease was defined as restrictive, obstructive, or vascular disease severe enough to limit performance of the activities of daily living or chronic hypoxia, hypercapnia, polycythemia, pulmonary hypertension, or ventilator dependence.Chronic liver disease was defined as biopsy-proven cirrhosis or proven portal hypertension or previous history of hepatic insufficiency, encephalopathy, or coma.Other causes included subarachnoid hemorrhage (aneurysm or venous artery malformation), brain tumor, exogenous intoxication, and meningitis.Of the 1771 brain-dead potential donors screened, 1535 were included (intervention group: 743 [48.4%]; control group: 792 [51.6%]). These patients included 626 females (40.8%) and 673 males (59.2%), with a median (IQR) age of 51 (36.3-62.0) years. The main cause of brain injury was stroke (877 [57.1%]), followed by trauma (485 [31.6%]) (