Transcranial cerebral oximetry and transcranial doppler sonography in patients with ruptured cerebral aneurysms and delayed cerebral vasospasm Constantine Constantoyannis 1 ABCDEF, George C. Sakellaropoulos 2 BCD, George C. Kagadis 2 BCDEF, Paraskevi F. Katsakiori 1 EF, Theodore Maraziotis 1 DF, George C. Nikiforidis 2 CD, Nikolas Papadakis 1 ADF 1 Department of Neurosurgery, University of Patras, School of Medicine, Rion, Greece 2 Department of Medical Physics, University of Patras, School of Medicine, Rion, Greece Source of support: Departmental sources Summary Background: Vasospasm is a major cause of ischemic neurological deficits developing after subarachnoid hem- orrhage. The goal was to identify hemodynamic changes and the presence of clinical vasospasm in patients suffering from subarachnoid hemorrhage secondary to ruptured intracranial aneu- rysms. Material/Methods: Pre- and postoperative serial transcranial cerebral oximetry and transcranial doppler sonography (TCD) examinations were performed in 75 patients operated for aneurysmal subarachnoid hem- orrhage. Results: No significant difference (p=0.14) was found in the levels of regional oxygen saturation (rSO 2 ) be- tween patients with vasospasm and those without. In patients who developed clinical vasospasm, the blood flow velocity values were significantly higher compared with those who did not (127.5±2.7 versus 92.5±1.2 cm/sec, p<0.001). In six patients with clinical vasospasm and low TCCO measure- ments, the use of triple-H therapy led to oxygen saturation increment and clinical improvement. Conclusions: Transcranial cerebral oximetry seems to be of limited value for the detection of vasospasm in pa- tients with subarachnoid hemorrhage. However, it may be useful in estimating the clinical impact of triple-H therapy in such patients. key words: oximetry • transcranial doppler • vasospasm • aneurysm • subarachnoid hemorrhage • cerebral ischemia Full-text PDF: http://www.medscimonit.com/fulltxt.php?IDMAN=10027 Word count: 2223 Tables: — Figures: 4 References: 36 Author’s address: Constantine Constantoyannis, MD, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, University of Patras, GR 265 00, Rion, Greece, e-mail: cconst@med.upatras.gr Authors’ Contribution: A Study Design B Data Collection C Statistical Analysis D Data Interpretation E Manuscript Preparation F Literature Search G Funds Collection Received: 2007.01.11 Accepted: 2007.07.06 Published: 2007.10.01 MT35 Diagnostics and Medical Technology WWW. MEDSCIMONIT.COM © Med Sci Monit, 2007; 13(10): MT35-40 PMID: 17901860 MT Current Contents/Clinical Medicine • IF(2006)=1.595 • Index Medicus/MEDLINE • EMBASE/Excerpta Medica • Chemical Abstracts • Index Copernicus