Dr. Chi Ching-shiang (
According to Lee Ming-chung (
PHOTO: LIAO CHEN-HUI, TAIPEI TIMES
However, the medical team treating the girl say that they will explore every possibility to try to save her life.
Lee said yesterday that the girl's vital signs, including heartbeat, blood pressure, blood oxygenation level and micturation rate were normal, assisted by a life support system and medication.
However, she is currently in a deep coma, with a cranial pressure reading of 68, and the prognosis is far from optimistic.
According to Chi, a pediatric neurosurgeon who examined the girl yesterday morning, the girl's brain-stem functions have not recovered, despite the efforts of the medical staff at the hospital.
Visual and physical stimuli are failing to produce reflex reactions, and in terms of standard pediatric neurological coma diagnostic procedures, these already indicate brain death.
Nevertheless, said Chi, there are rigorous procedures to be followed before a child can be declared officially brain-dead. A joint examination, agreed to by the child's parents, must first be carried out by at least two neurosurgeons, and this should include a respiratory test as well as an investigation of the reflex responses of the brain-stem.
Lee explained that the brain stem is responsible for our most fundamental bodily functions, such as the heartbeat, respiration, pupil dilation, and control of body temperature and blood pressure.
If the stem is damaged or ceases to function, the chances of survival drop dramatically.
Despite the fact that her vital signs had stabilized on the life support system, the results of these tests show that the girl is still in serious danger.
The girl was sent to Taichung for treatment having been turned away from hospitals in Taipei earlier this month.
The resident doctor on call at the time, Lin Chih-nan (
As part of another branch of the investigation, two members of the Da-an district police and a social worker responsible for the girl's case are to appear in court to shed light on the domestic violence situation that led to the girl's injury.
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