Imminent brain death: point of departure for potential heart-beating organ donor recognition.

Purpose: There is, in European countries that conduct medical chart review of intensive care unit (ICU) deaths, no consensus on uniform criteria for defining a potential organ donor. Although the term is increasingly being used in recent literature, it is seldom defined in detail. We searched for criteria for determination of imminent brain death, which can be seen as a precursor for organ donation.

[Dissection of the carotid artery following blunt trauma: still a pitfall].

Two young patients, an 18-year-old woman and a 25-year-old man, were admitted to hospital after accidents with a car. They developed very severe complications as a consequence of blunt carotid artery dissection. This diagnosis was delayed in both patients until serious cerebral ischaemia had occurred.

Severe diffuse interstitial pneumonia due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae in a patient with respiratory insufficiency.

We report a 25-year-old man presenting with high fever, dyspnoea and somnolence. The presence of severe diffuse interstitial pneumonia with extrapulmonary symptoms, such as myositis and subclinical haemolysis, strongly suggested an infection by Mycoplasma pneumoniae. This diagnosis was supported by high titres of cold agglutinins and a positive Coombs test, and directly confirmed by specific IgM serological tests.

Rapidly fatal Q-fever pneumonia in a patient with chronic granulomatous disease.

Acute Q-fever is a systemic illness which rarely has a fatal outcome. Fatal cases do occur with the chronic form of the disease and associated with endocarditis. This report presents the case of a fatal, acute Q-fever pneumonia in an 11-year-old patient with chronic granulomatous disease.