Strategies for hemodynamic maintenance of potential brain-dead donor: integrative review

OBJECTIVE: To learn about the scientific production on strategies adopted for hemodynamic maintenance of brain-dead patients. METHODS: Integrative review with articles published between 2007 and 2019, in Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature (LILACS), PubMed(®) and ScienceDirect. The descriptors “ Hemodinâmica AND Morte Encefálica ” and “Hemodynamics AND Brain Death” were used. Exclusion criteria were non-human research and gray literature. RESULTS: A total of 21 articles were listed. As strategies, the use of drugs – noradrenaline (n=8), vasopressin (n=7), dobutamine (n=6), hydrocortisone (n=4) and methylprednisolone (n=4); invasive (n=10) and noninvasive (n=13) cardiac monitoring; control of ventilatory parameters (n=12); and correction of fluid and electrolyte disturbances (n=17) were highlighted. CONCLUSION: The main strategies found in this integrative review were regulation of blood pressure and temperature, use of catecholamines and corticosteroids, in addition to the need for an early diagnosis of brain death. However, the lack of clearer protocols on the subject is notorious, making management with the potential donor difficult.