A test used to determine whether a comatose person receiving life support has suffered brain death.

PATIENT CARE
The patient's ventilator is set to deliver no breaths per minute, and the carbon dioxide level of the blood is allowed to rise above 60 mm Hg. If apnea (no spontaneous breathing) occurs, brain death is confirmed. The test should not be performed if the person has recently received sedative, narcotic, or paralytic drugs; those drugs may suppress spontaneous breathing, falsely suggesting brain death.