Snake bite mimicking brain death: Bedside clues

Abstract

Agarwal et al.1 have successfully managed three cases of snake bites who manifested features similar to brain dead but were not true brain dead. Most likely these cases might have gone on to a status of locked-in syndrome (LIS). LIS is a status in which there is complete paralysis of voluntary muscles in all parts of the body except for those that control eye movements. Moreover, this condition makes an individual completely mute and paralyzed in a conscious patient.2 In these individuals, communication may be possible through eye movements.