Time Course of Cerebrovascular Reactivity in Patients Treated for Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms: A One-Year Transcranial Doppler and Acetazolamide Follow-Up Study.

BACKGROUND: Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) is often impaired in the early phase after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. There is, however, little knowledge about the time course of CVR in patients treated for unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIA). METHODS: CVR, assessed by transcranial Doppler and acetazolamide test, was examined within the first postoperative week after treatment for UIA and reexamined one year later. RESULTS: Of 37 patients initially assessed, 34 were reexamined after one year. Bilaterally, baseline and acetazolamide-induced blood flow velocities were higher in the postoperative week compared with one year later (p < 0.001). CVR on the ipsilateral side of treatment was lower in the initial examination compared with follow-up (58.9% versus 66.1%, p = 0.04). There was no difference in CVR over time on the contralateral side (63.4% versus 65.0%, p = 0.65). When mean values of right and left sides were considered there was no difference in CVR between exams. Larger aneurysm size was associated with increased change in CVR (p = 0.04), and treatment with clipping was associated with 13.8%-point increased change in CVR compared with coiling (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: Patients with UIA may have a temporary reduction in CVR on the ipsilateral side after aneurysm treatment. The change in CVR appears more pronounced for larger-sized aneurysms and in patients treated with clipping. We recommend that ipsilateral and contralateral CVR should be assessed separately, as mean values can conceal side-differences.

Cerebrovascular reactivity after treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms--A transcranial Doppler sonography and acetazolamide study.

BACKGROUND: Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) is defined as the change in cerebral blood flow, or blood velocity, in response to a vasoactive stimulus. There is a possible association between impaired CVR and vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Most studies on CVR and vasospasm have used healthy subjects as reference. However, due to potential different vascular features, CVR in persons with intracranial aneurysms may differ from CVR in healthy subjects. Therefore, our aim was to examine CVR in patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIA). METHODS: CVR was examined in 37 patients in the first postoperative week after treatment for UIA, using acetazolamide (AZ) test with transcranial Doppler monitoring of blood flow velocities. RESULTS: Mean blood flow velocity in the middle cerebral arteries was 58.5 (SD 12.8) cm/s at baseline, and 94.3 (SD 19.5) cm/s after stimulation with AZ. Mean CVR was 62.6 (SD 16.8) %. There was no significant difference when comparing right and left sides, and treated and untreated sides. A simple regression analysis suggested that CVR increased with 0.7% points for each year a patient aged (p=0.004). However, the significance disappeared in a multiple analysis (increase of 0.6% points per year, p=0.055). Other possible influencing factors (gender, smoking, hypertension, body mass index, aneurysm location and treatment modality) were not significantly associated with CVR. CONCLUSIONS: CVR in patients with UIA is not different from normal values reported in healthy subjects, and does not indicate a systemically impaired vascular system in patients with UIA. We suggest that CVR in age and gender matched healthy controls can be used as reference for persons with intracranial aneurysms.

Outcome in patients undergoing surgery for spinal injury in an Ethiopian hospital.

OBJECT: The objective of this study was to investigate epidemiology and outcome after surgical treatment for spinal injuries in Ethiopia. METHODS: Medical records of patients who underwent surgery for spine injuries at Myungsung Christian Medical Center in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, between January 2008 and September 2012 were reviewed retrospectively. Assessment of outcome and complications was determined from patient consultations and phone interviews. RESULTS: A total of 146 patients were included (129 males, 17 females). Their mean age was 31.7 years (range 15-81 years). The leading cause of injury was motor vehicle accidents (54.1%), and this was followed by falls (26.7%). The most common injury sites were lumbar (41.1%) and cervical (34.2%) regions of the spine. In 21.2% of patients, no neurological deficit was present before surgery, 46.6% had incomplete spinal cord injury (American Spinal Injury Association [ASIA] Impairment Scale [AIS] Grade B-D), and 32.2% had complete spinal cord injury (AIS Grade A). Follow-up was hampered by suboptimal infrastructure, but information regarding outcome was successfully obtained for 110 patients (75.3%). At follow-up (mean 22.9 months; range 2-57 months), 25 patients (17.1%) were confirmed dead and 85 patients (58.2%) were alive; 49 patients (33.6%) underwent physical examination. At least 8 of the 47 patients (17.0%) with a complete injury and 29 of the 68 patients (42.6%) with an incomplete injury showed neurological improvement. The reported incidences of pressure wounds, recurrent urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and thromboembolic events were 22.5%, 13.5%, 5.6%, and 1.1%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Patients showed surprisingly good recovery considering the limited resources. Surgical treatment for spine injuries in Ethiopia is considered beneficial.

Continuous Local Intra-Arterial Nimodipine for the Treatment of Cerebral Vasospasm.

Vasospasm (VSP) is one of the major causes for prolonged neurologic deficit in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Few case series have reported about continuous local intra-arterial nimodipine administration (CLINA) in refractory VSP. We report our experience with CLINA in a patient with refractory cerebral VSP.