Evaluating Brain Death with Positron Emission Tomography: Case Report on Dynamic Imaging of 18 F‐Fluorodeoxyglucose Activity after Intravenous Bolus Injection

A dynamic positron emission tomography (PET) study of the head was performed over 1 hour after the intravenous bolus administration of 18 F‐fluorodeoxyglucose ( 18 F‐FDG) to a 18‐year‐old patient with the clinical diagnosis of brain death. This dynamic PET study was performed on the seventh day after a severe posttraumatic closed‐head injury. No intracerebral uptake or retention of tracer was noted, consistent with a diffuse absence of brain metabolism. A small amount of tracer was noted to slowly rise over time within the sagittal sinus, indicating that visualization of sagittal sinuses on technetium 99m‐diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid planar images could provide a falsely negative scintigraphic evaluation for the presence of brain death. It is concluded that PET FDG imaging may be a useful technique in evaluating patients for brain death.