[Combination of serial transcranial Doppler examinations and cerebral blood flow studies in the management of cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage]

Abstract

In 13 patients who had ruptured intracranial aneurysms, serial transcranial Doppler (TCD) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) examinations were performed in order to evaluate the degree of cerebral vasospasm. All patients showed some extent of vasospasm on angiography, which was performed between Day 7 and 10. The flow velocities of either the middle cerebral arteries or the anterior cerebral arteries, measured by TCD, began to increase on post hemorrhage Day 5, and maximum flow velocities were recorded between Day 9 and 13, with normalization occurring within the following 2 weeks. In 5 cases of symptomatic vasospasm, a rapid increase of flow velocities preceded clinical manifestation of the vasospasm. Maximum flow velocities of the 5 cases were at a higher level in the range of 119-184cm/sec (mean 149cm/sec) that the cases where there were no symptoms. Consequently, serial TCD examinations were very useful for the early detection of vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage. And it was confirmed that the change of flow velocities was more important than the value itself, and that the rapid increase of flow velocities indicated severe ischemia. However, for judging when vessel narrowing was resolving, the usefulness of the TCD examinations were doubtful. This is because flow velocities measured by TCD are thought to be fairly much influenced by multiple factors such as the change of blood pressure, blood volume, which were caused by the active treatment for the vasospasm. Serial measurements of CBF were also made 2-7 times (mean 3.1 times) during the first two weeks following subarachnoid hemorrhage using the 133Xe intravenous injection method.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)