High-dose Simvastatin for Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Neurosurgery ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. E561-E562
Author(s):  
George Kwok Chu Wong ◽  
Wai Sang Poon
Neurosurgery ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 281-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rene Post ◽  
IJsbrand A.J Zijlstra ◽  
Rene van den Berg ◽  
Bert A Coert ◽  
Dagmar Verbaan ◽  
...  

Abstract BACKGROUND Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is one of the major causes of delayed morbidity and mortality in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of high-dose nadroparin treatment following endovascular aneurysm treatment on the occurrence of DCI and clinical outcome. METHODS Medical records of 158 adult patients with an aSAH were retrospectively analyzed. Those patients treated endovascularly for their ruptured aneurysm were included in this study. They received either high-dose (twice daily 5700 AxaIE) or low-dose (once daily 2850 AxaIE) nadroparin treatment after occlusion of the aneurysm. Medical charts were reviewed and imaging was scored by 2 independent neuroradiologists. Data with respect to in-hospital complications, peri-procedural complications, discharge location, and mortality were collected. RESULTS Ninety-three patients had received high-dose nadroparin, and 65 patients prophylactic low-dose nadroparin. There was no significant difference in clinical DCI occurrence between patients treated with high-dose (34%) and low-dose (31%) nadroparin. More patients were discharged to home in patients who received high-dose nadroparin (40%) compared to low-dose (17%; odds ratio [OR] 3.13, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 1.36-7.24). Furthermore, mortality was lower in the high-dose group (5%) compared to the low-dose group (23%; OR 0.19, 95% CI: 0.07-0.55), also after adjusting for neurological status on admission (OR 0.21, 95% CI: 0.07-0.63). CONCLUSION Patients who were treated with high-dose nadroparin after endovascular treatment for aneurysmal SAH were more often discharged to home and showed lower mortality. High-dose nadroparin did not, however, show a decrease in the occurrence of clinical DCI after aSAH. A randomized controlled trial seems warranted.


2008 ◽  
Vol 108 (3) ◽  
pp. 458-463 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janine Keuskamp ◽  
Raj Murali ◽  
Kuo H. Chao

Object Because oral calcium channel blockers appear to reduce the severity of cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), interest in their application intraarterially has emerged for cases in which noninvasive means of alleviating vasospasm are unsuccessful. Studies to date have been limited to the administration of low intraarterial doses because of concerns about hemodynamic stability and changes in intracranial pressure. These doses, although effective in cases of milder vasospasm, were inadequate in severe cases. The authors present a series of 10 patients with cerebral vasospasm who underwent 12 procedures in which they received ≥ 20 mg of intraarterial verapamil per procedure. Methods A retrospective review was undertaken of all patients who underwent endovascular treatment for cerebral vasospasm due to aneurysmal SAH by the senior author between February 2005 and October 2006. Ten patients were identified who had undergone a total of 12 procedures during which ≥20 mg of intraarterial verapamil had been administered. From angiography reports, anesthesia records, and nursing records, we obtained pre- and postverapamil mean arterial blood pressures (MABPs), heart rates, intracranial pressures (ICPs) (when available), and visible changes in the degree of vasospasm. Results No statistically significant changes in MABP, heart rate, or ICP were observed after administration of ≥ 20 mg of intraarterial verapamil, and the degree of improvement in vasospasm was statistically significant based on our grading system. No correlation was found between the change in hemodynamic parameters and the total dose of verapamil. Conclusions This study indicates that high-dose intraarterial verapamil may be used to treat cerebral vasospasm without compromising hemodynamic stability or increasing ICP.


1993 ◽  
Vol 78 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-547 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Clarke Haley ◽  
Neal F. Kassell ◽  
James C. Torner ◽  
_ _

✓ Because of their action as cerebral vasodilators, dihydropyridine calcium antagonists have received intense scrutiny for their potential benefit in ameliorating the devastating consequences of delayed cerebral vasospasm following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). From October, 1987, to September, 1989, 41 North American neurosurgical centers in the Cooperative Aneurysm Study accrued 906 patients with recent (Days 0 to 7) aneurysmal SAH into a prospective randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of high-dose intravenous nicardipine to test whether treatment with this agent improved overall outcome. Eligible patients received 0.15 mg/kg/hr of either nicardipine or placebo by continuous infusion for up to 14 days following hemorrhage. The 449 patients randomly assigned to the nicardipine-treated group and the 457 patients assigned to the placebo-treated group were balanced with regard to prognostic factors for ischemic deficits from vasospasm and for overall outcome. Other medical and surgical interventions were used with similar frequency in both groups, except that antihypertensive agents were used less frequently in the nicardipine-treated patients (26% of the nicardipine-treated group vs. 43% of the placebo-treated group, p < 0.001), and more patients in the placebo-treated group had intentional hypervolemia, induced hypertension, and/or hemodilution administered therapeutically for symptomatic vasospasm (38% of the placebo-treated group vs. 25% of the nicardipine-treated group, p < 0.001). The incidence of symptomatic vasospasm during the treatment period was higher in the placebo-treated group (46%) than in the nicardipine-treated group (32%) (p < 0.001). Despite the reduction in symptomatic vasospasm in the nicardipine-treated group, overall outcome at 3 months was similar between the two groups. Fifty-five percent of nicardipine-treated patients were rated as having a good recovery according to the Glasgow Outcome Scale at follow-up review and 17% were dead, compared to 56% and 18%, respectively, in the placebo-treated group (not statistically significant). These data suggest that high-dose intravenous nicardipine treatment is associated with a reduced incidence of symptomatic vasospasm in patients with recent aneurysmal SAH, but not with an improvement in overall outcome at 3 months when compared to standard management in North America. It is postulated that, while nicardipine prevents vasospasm, hypertensive/hypervolemic therapy may be effective in reversing ischemic deficits from vasospasm once they occur.


2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 510-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard S. Veyna ◽  
Donald Seyfried ◽  
Don G. Burke ◽  
Chris Zimmerman ◽  
Mark Mlynarek ◽  
...  

Object. Vasospasm remains a significant source of neurological morbidity and mortality following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), despite advances in current medical, surgical, and endovascular therapies. Magnesium sulfate therapy has been demonstrated to be both safe and effective in preventing neurological complications in obstetrical patients with eclampsia. Evidence obtained using experimental models of brain injury, cerebral ischemia, and SAH indicate that Mg may also have a role as a neuroprotective agent. The authors hypothesize that MgSO4 therapy is safe, feasible, and has a beneficial effect on vasospasm and, ultimately, on neurological outcome following aneurysmal SAH. Methods. A prospective randomized single-blind clinical trial of high-dose MgSO4 therapy following aneurysmal SAH (Hunt and Hess Grades II–IV) was performed in 40 patients, who were enrolled within 72 hours following SAH and given intravenous MgSO4 or control solution for 10 days. Serum Mg++ levels were maintained in the 4 to 5.5 mg/dl range throughout the treatment period. Clinical management principles were the same between groups (including early use of surgery or endovascular treatment, followed by aggressive vasospasm prophylaxis and treatment). Daily transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonographic recordings were obtained, and clinical outcomes were measured using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS). The patients' GOS scores and the TCD recordings were analyzed using the independent t-test. Forty patients were enrolled in the study: 20 (15 female and five male patients) received treatment and 20 (11 female and nine male patients) comprised a control group. The mean ages of the patients in these groups were 46 and 51, respectively, and the mean clinical Hunt and Hess grades were 2.6 ± 0.68 in the MgSO4 treatment group and 2.3 ± 0.73 in the control group (mean ± standard deviation [SD], p = 0.87). Fisher grades were similar in both groups. Mean middle cerebral artery velocities were 93 ± 27 cm/second in MgSO4-treated patients and 102 ± 34 cm/second in the control group (mean ± SD, p = 0.41). Symptomatic vasospasm, confirmed by angiography, occurred in six of 20 patients receiving MgSO4 and in five of 16 patients receiving placebo. Mean GOS scores were 3.8 ± 1.6 and 3.6 ± 1.5 (mean ± SD, p = 0.74) in the treatment and control groups, respectively. Significant adverse effects from treatment with MgSO4 did not occur. Conclusions. Administration of high-dose MgSO4 following aneurysmal SAH is safe, and steady Mg++ levels in the range of 4 to 5.5 mg/dl are easily maintained. This treatment does not interfere with neurological assessment, administration of anesthesia during surgery, or other aspects of clinical care. We observed a trend in which a higher percentage of patients obtained GOS scores of 4 or 5 in the group treated with MgSO4, but the trend did not reach a statistically significant level. A larger study is needed to evaluate this trend further.


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