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. 2022 Jun;36(3):868-875.
doi: 10.1007/s12028-021-01388-w. Epub 2021 Nov 17.

Cerebral vasospasm in children with subarachnoid hemorrhage: frequency, diagnosis, and therapeutic management

Clément Isola  1 , Jean-Noel Evain  2 , Gilles Francony  2 , Caroline Baud  1 , Anne Millet  1 , Amélie Desrumaux  1 , Isabelle Wroblewski  1 , Jean-Francois Payen  2   3 , Guillaume Mortamet  4   5
Affiliations

Cerebral vasospasm in children with subarachnoid hemorrhage: frequency, diagnosis, and therapeutic management

Clément Isola et al. Neurocrit Care. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

Background: The present study explores the frequency, diagnostic approach, and therapeutic management of cerebral vasospasm in a cohort of children with moderate-to-severe traumatic and nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

Methods: This was a single-center retrospective study performed over a 10-year period, from January 2010 to December 2019. Children aged from one month to 18 years who were admitted to the pediatric or adult intensive care unit with a diagnosis of SAH were eligible. Cerebral vasospasm could be suspected by clinical signs or transcranial Doppler (TCD) criteria (mean blood flow velocity > 120 cm/s or an increase in mean blood flow velocity by > 50 cm/s within 24 h) and then confirmed on cerebral imaging (with a reduction to less than 50% of the caliber of the cerebral artery).

Results: Eighty patients aged 8.6 years (3.3-14.8 years, 25-75th centiles) were admitted with an initial Glasgow Coma Scale score of 8 (4-12). SAH was nontraumatic in 21 (26%) patients. A total of 14/80 patients (18%) developed cerebral vasospasm on brain imaging on day 6 (5-10) after admission, with a predominance of nontraumatic SAH (12/14). The diagnosis of cerebral vasospasm was suspected on clinical signs and/or significant temporal changes in TCD monitoring (7 patients) and then confirmed on cerebral imaging. Thirteen of 14 patients with vasospasm were successfully treated using a continuous intravenous infusion of milrinone. The Pediatric Cerebral Performance Category score at discharge from the intensive care unit was comparable between children with vasospasm (score of 2 [1-4]) vs. children without vasospasm (score of 4 [2-4]) (p = 0.09).

Conclusions: These findings indicate that cerebral vasospasm exists in pediatrics, particularly after nontraumatic SAH. The use of TCD and milrinone may help in the diagnostic and therapeutic management of cerebral vasospasm.

Keywords: Cerebral vasospasm; Children; Pediatrics; Subarachnoid hemorrhage; Transcranial Doppler.

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