Fig. 1

Imaging characteristics of catastrophic brain injury. Selected computed tomography (CT) images of a patient who presented to our hospital following cardiac arrest with anoxic brain injury. Initial non-contrast CT image obtained less than 2 h following initial arrest (A) demonstrates early loss of grey–white matter differentiation of the cerebral cortex. Follow-up study 36 h later (B and C) demonstrates progression of loss of grey white matter differentiation including the visualized brainstem with increased cerebral edema, sulcal and ventricular effacement and effacement of the basilar cisterns (arrowheads)