The role of the Trigeminocardiac Reflex in a Traumatic Brain Injury Death: Case Report

Abstract The trigeminocardiac reflex (TCR) is defined as sudden onset of parasympathetic dysrhythmias including hemodynamic irregularities, apnea, and gastric hypermotility during stimulation of sensory branches of the trigeminal nerve. Back in 1999 when TCR was first described as such, a clinical discussion on the establishment of terminology is ongoing. We present a case of a 31-year-old male patient who was admitted to the Emergency Department due to traumatic brain injury who died with clinical manifestations of TCR. TCR can be a red flag for neurosurgeons when treating patients with traumatic brain injury.