Chemical angioplasty for cerebral vasospasm in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage

Aim. To evaluate the hospital outcomes of chemical angioplasty in patients with vasospasm secondary to the clipping of the ruptured cerebral artery aneurysm.

Methods. 18 patients who underwent chemical angioplasty were included in the study. Patients’ age ranged from 24 to 66 years old, the mean age was 46.6±13.2 years. Indications for chemical angioplasty and the criteria for its termination were determined by the neurosurgeon based on clinical signs and symptoms, and the data of the non-invasive examination.

Results. The sessions of chemical angioplasty were performed an average of 4.7±2.3 days after the aneurysm clipping and 6.5±3 days after the onset of subarachnoid hemorrhage. The number of sessions was 4.8±2.2 and varied from 1 to 9 sessions. The baseline Lindergard index was 3.82±0.6. Three patients (16.6%) died in the in-hospital period. The Lindergard index after the end of chemical angioplasty was 2.75±0.84, which is unreliably lower (p = 0.31) than that at the baseline.

Conclusion. Timely chemical angioplasty can reduce the development of significant vasospasm complications, particularly ischemic neurologic deficit.

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