A randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled trial of tirilazad mesylate in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a cooperative study in North America

1997 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 467-474 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Clarke Haley ◽  
Neal F. Kassell ◽  
Carolyn Apperson-Hansen ◽  
Marie H. Maile ◽  
Wayne M. Alves ◽  
...  

✓ To test the safety and efficacy of tirilazad mesylate, a nonglucocorticoid 21-aminosteroid, in improving the outcome of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), 902 patients were enrolled in a prospective randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled trial at 54 North American neurosurgical centers. Five patients were excluded prior to receiving any study drug. Of 897 patients who received at least one dose of study medication, 300 received a placebo containing a citrate vehicle, 298 received 2 mg/kg per day tirilazad, and 299 received 6 mg/kg per day tirilazad, all administered intravenously beginning within 48 hours of the SAH and continuing through 10 days posthemorrhage. All patients were also treated with orally administered nimodipine. At 3 months post-SAH, there were no significant differences (p < 0.025) among the groups with regard to mortality rate, favorable outcome on the Glasgow Outcome Scale, or employment status. During the first 14 days after the SAH, there were no significant differences among the groups in the incidence or severity of clinically symptomatic or angiographically identifiable cerebral vasospasm. Mortality data stratified by gender and neurological grade on admission (assessed according to a modified World Federation of Neurological Surgeons scale) demonstrated that the men with Grades IV to V had a 33% mortality rate in the vehicle group, 52% in the 2 mg/kg per day tirilazad group (p = 0.29), and 5% in the 6 mg/kg per day tirilazad group (p = 0.03). Tirilazad was well tolerated at both dose levels. Tirilazad mesylate at dosage levels of up to 6 mg/kg per day for 8 to 10 days following SAH did not improve the overall outcome in patients with aneurysmal SAH in this trial. The differences in the efficacy of tirilazad in this trial and a previously reported trial in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, in which dosage levels of tirilazad of 6 mg/kg per day reduced mortality rates and increased good recovery, may be a result of differences in admission characteristics of the patients and/or differences in management protocols, including the use of anticonvulsant medications.

1996 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neal F. Kassell ◽  
E. Clarke Haley ◽  
Carolyn Apperson-Hansen ◽  
Wayne M. Alves ◽  
_ _

✓ Tirilazad mesylate, a nonglucocorticoid 21-aminosteroid, has been shown in experimental models to reduce vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and to reduce infarct size from focal cerebral ischemia. To test whether treatment with tirilazad would reduce ischemic symptoms from vasospasm and improve overall outcome in patients with ruptured aneurysms, a prospective randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled trial was conducted at 41 neurosurgical centers in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. One thousand twenty-three patients were randomly assigned to receive 0.6, 2, or 6 mg/kg per day of intravenously administered tirilazad or a placebo containing the citrate vehicle. All patients were also treated with intravenously administered nimodipine. Patients receiving 6 mg/kg per day of tirilazad had reduced mortality (p = 0.01) and a greater frequency of good recovery on the Glasgow Outcome Scale 3 months after SAH (p = 0.01) than similar patients treated with vehicle. There was a reduction in symptomatic vasospasm in the group that received 6 mg/kg per day tirilazad; however, the difference was not statistically significant (p = 0.048). The benefits of treatment with tirilazad were predominantly shown in men rather than in women. There were no material differences between the outcomes in the groups treated with 0.6 and 2 mg/kg tirilazad per day and the group treated with vehicle. Tirilazad was well tolerated at all three dose levels. These observations suggest that tirilazad mesylate, at a dosage of 6 mg/kg per day, is safe and improves overall outcome in patients (especially in men) who have experienced an aneurysmal SAH.


1988 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 683-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juha Öhman ◽  
Olli Heiskanen

✓ The effect of intravenous nimodipine on the incidence of mortality and delayed ischemic neurological deficits of patients after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and surgery was studied in a prospective double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Upon admission, all of the patients were in Grades I to III according to the classification of Hunt and Hess. Of the 213 patients enrolled in the study, 58 underwent early surgery (within 72 hours after the bleed: Days 0 to 3), 69 were operated on subacutely (between Days 4 and 7), and 74 had late surgery (on Day 8 or later). Eleven patients died before surgery was undertaken and one was not scheduled for operation. Administration of the drug was started immediately after the radiological diagnosis of a ruptured aneurysm had been made. The dose of nimodipine or matching placebo was 0.5 µg/kg/min via continuous intravenous infusion for 7 to 10 days after the SAH and, if the patient was operated on late, for 2 to 3 days after the operation as well. After intravenous treatment, oral administration of nimodipine or placebo was continued for up to 21 days after SAH in a dose of 60 mg every 4 hours. Nimodipine treatment was associated with a significant decrease in mortality rate (p = 0.03) in the early and subacute surgery groups. In the total series the number of deaths due to delayed ischemic deterioration was significantly lower in the nimodipine group than in the placebo group (p = 0.01).


2003 ◽  
Vol 99 (6) ◽  
pp. 953-959 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jari Siironen ◽  
Seppo Juvela ◽  
Joona Varis ◽  
Matti Porras ◽  
Kristiina Poussa ◽  
...  

Object. From the moment an intracranial aneurysm ruptures, cerebral blood flow is impaired, and this impairment mainly determines the outcome in patients who survive after the initial bleeding. The exact mechanism of impairment is unknown, but activation of coagulation and fibrinolysis correlate with clinical condition and outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The purpose of this study was to determine whether enoxaparin, a low-molecular-weight heparin, which is a well-known anticoagulating agent, has any effect on the outcome of aneurysmal SAH postoperatively. Methods. In this randomized, double-blind, single-center clinical trial, 170 patients (85 per group) with aneurysmal SAH were randomly assigned to receive either enoxaparin (40 mg subcutaneously once daily) or a placebo, starting within 24 hours after occlusion of the aneurysm and continuing for 10 days. Analysis was done on an intention-to-treat basis. Outcome was assessed at 3 months on both the Glasgow Outcome and modified Rankin Scales. Patients were eligible for the study if surgery was performed within 48 hours post-SAH, and no intracerebral hemorrhage was larger than 20 mm in diameter on the first postoperative computerized tomography scan. At 3 months, there were no significant differences in outcome by treatment group. Of the 170 patients, 11 (6%) died, and only 95 (56%) had a good outcome. Principal causes of unfavorable outcome were poor initial condition, delayed cerebral ischemia, and surgical complications. There were four patients with additional intracranial bleeding in the group receiving enoxaparin. The bleeding was not necessarily associated with the treatment itself, nor did it require treatment, and there were no such patients in the placebo group. Conclusions. Enoxaparin seemed to have no effect on the outcome of aneurysmal SAH in patients who had already received routine nimodipine and who had received triple-H therapy when needed. Routine use of low-molecular-weight heparin should be avoided during the early postoperative period in patients with SAH, because this agent seems to increase intracranial bleeding complications slightly, with no beneficial effect on neurological outcome.


1998 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry Glick ◽  
Richard Willke ◽  
Daniel Polsky ◽  
Ted Llana ◽  
Wayne M. Alves ◽  
...  

AbstractThis study used data from a multinational phase III randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled trial to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of tirilazad mesylate (Freedox®) in the treatment of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. In men, therapy with 6 mg/kg per day of tirilazad mesylate was associated with significantly increased survival, increased cost of care, and ratios of cost per death averted that compare favorably with the ratios of other life and death interventions. In women, it appeared to have no effects on costs or survival. Further clinical studies may provide additional information about the cost-effectiveness of this intervention.


1991 ◽  
Vol 74 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juha Öhman ◽  
Antti Servo ◽  
Olli Heiskanen

✓ A total of 213 patients with verified aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) of Grades I to III (Hunt and Hess classification) were enrolled in a double-blind placebo-controlled trial to determine the effect of intravenous nimodipine on delayed ischemic deterioration and computerized tomography (CT)-visualized infarcts after SAH and surgery. The administration of the drug or matching placebo was started immediately after the radiological diagnosis of a ruptured aneurysm had been made. Of the 213 patients enrolled in the study, 58 were operated on early (within 72 hours after the bleed: Days 0 to 3), 69 were operated on subacutely (between Days 4 and 7), and 74 had late surgery (on Day 8 or later). Eleven patients died before surgery was undertaken and one was not operated on. A follow-up examination with CT scanning, performed 1 to 3 years after the SAH (mean 1.4 years), revealed no significant differences in the overall outcome between the groups. However, nimodipine treatment was associated with a significantly lower incidence of deaths caused by delayed cerebral ischemia (p = 0.01) and significantly lower occurrence of cerebral infarcts visualized by CT scanning in the whole population (p = 0.05), especially in patients without an associated intracerebral hemorrhage on admission CT scan (p = 0.03).


1989 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juha Öhman ◽  
Olli Heiskanen

✓ A total of 216 patients with a ruptured aneurysm of the anterior part of the circle of Willis were enrolled into this prospective randomized study of timing of the operation after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Only patients in clinical Grades I to III (according to the classification of Hunt and Hess) who were admitted and randomly assigned to a treatment group within 72 hours after the SAH were included in the trial. The patients were randomly assigned to one of three operation groups: acute surgery (AS: 0 to 3 days after the SAH; day of SAH = Day 0), intermediate surgery (IS: 4 to 7 days after the SAH), or late surgery (LS: 8 days to an indefinite time after the SAH). Three patients (4.3%) in the IS group and six patients (8.6%) in the LS group died before surgery was undertaken. At 3 months post-SAH, 65 patients (91.5%) from the AS group were classified as independent compared to 55 (78.6%) from the IS group and 56 (80.0%) from the LS group. The management mortality rate in the AS group was 5.6% compared to 12.9% in the LS group. Of the 216 patients enrolled in the timing study, 159 were randomly assigned to an independent double-blind placebo-controlled trial of nimodipine in Grade I to III patients. A total of 79 patients received nimodipine and 80 placebo. When the nimodipine group and the no-nimodipine group (the 80 placebo-treated patients plus the 52 patients who were not entered into the nimodipine trial) were analyzed separately, a significant difference was seen in the outcome of the no-nimodipine group (dependent AS vs. dependent IS, p = 0.01). Nimodipine treatment was associated with a significant reduction of delayed ischemic deterioration (all operation groups combined, nimodipine vs. no nimodipine p = 0.01; LS with nimodipine vs. LS with no nimodipine, p = 0.03).


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.


1999 ◽  
Vol 90 (4) ◽  
pp. 664-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina G. Cesarini ◽  
Hans-Göran Hårdemark ◽  
Lennart Persson

Object. Based on the concept that unfavorable clinical outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), to a large extent, is a consequence of all ischemic insults sustained by the brain during the acute phase of the disease, management of patients with SAH changed at the authors' institution in the mid-1980s. The new management principles affected referral guidelines, diagnostic and monitoring methods, and pharmacological and surgical treatment in a neurointensive care setting. The impact of such changes on the outcome of aneurysmal SAH over a longer period of time has not previously been studied in detail. This was the present undertaking.Methods. The authors analyzed all patients with SAH admitted to the neurosurgery department between 1981 and 1992. This period was divided in two parts, Period A (1981–1986) and Period B (1987–1992), and different aspects of management and outcome were recorded for each period. In total, 1206 patients with SAH (mean age 52 years, 59% females) were admitted; an aneurysm presumably causing the SAH was found in 874 (72%).The 30-day mortality rate decreased from 29% during the first 2 years (1981–1982) to 9% during the last 2 years (1991–1992) (Period A 22%; Period B 10%; p < 0.0001) and the 6-month mortality rate decreased from 34 to 15% (Period A 26%; Period B 16%; p < 0.001). At follow-up review conducted 2 to 9 years (mean 5.2 years) after SAH occurred, patients were evaluated according to the Glasgow Outcome Scale. Subarachnoid hemorrhage—related poor outcome (vegetative or dead) was reduced (Period A 30%; Period B 18%; p < 0.001). There was an increase both in patients with favorable outcome (good recovery and moderate disability) (Period A 61%; Period B 66%) and in those with severe disability (Period A 9%; Period B 16%; p < 0.01).Conclusions. This study provides evidence that the prognosis for patients with aneurysmal SAH has improved during the last decades. The most striking results were a gradual reduction in mortality rates and improved clinical outcomes in patients with Hunt and Hess Grade I or II SAH and in those with intraventricular hemorrhage. The changes in mortality rates and the clinical outcomes of patients with Hunt and Hess Grades III to V SAH were less conspicuous, although reduced incidences of mortality were seen in some subgroups; however, few survivors subsequently appeared to attain a favorable outcome.


1984 ◽  
Vol 60 (6) ◽  
pp. 1160-1162 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti Vapalahti ◽  
Bengt Ljunggren ◽  
Hans Säveland ◽  
Juha Hernesniemi ◽  
Lennart Brandt ◽  
...  

✓ The Kuopio University Clinic is the neurosurgical referral center for a population of 930,000 inhabitants in central Finland while the Lund University Clinic is the neurosurgical referral center for a population of 1.46 million inhabitants in southern Sweden. The incidence of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is approximately 19/100,000/year in central Finland and approximately five/100,000/year in southern Sweden. During the calendar year 1982, 69 patients with a ruptured supratentorial aneurysm were admitted in Lund, and 71 such patients were admitted in Kuopio. Thirty-nine patients in neurological Grades I to III (according to Hunt and Hess) underwent early aneurysm operation in Lund, and 46 such patients were operated on within a week after SAH in Kuopio. In the combined series of 85 Grade I to III patients with aneurysm operation within a week after rupture, 78% made a good recovery; the morbidity rate was 14%, and the mortality rate was 8%.


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