• Stephanie Ott, Sheila Jedlicka, Stefan Wolf, Mozes Peter, Christine Pudenz, Patrick Merker, Ludwig Schürer, and Christianto Benjamin Lumenta.
• Department of Neurosurgery, Academic Teaching Hospital Munich-Bogenhausen, Technical University of Munich, Englschalkinger Straße 77, 81925 Munich, Germany.
• Biomed Res Int. 2014 Jan 1;2014:970741.

BackgroundCerebral vasospasm is one of the leading courses for disability in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Effective treatment of vasospasm is therefore one of the main priorities for these patients. We report about a case series of continuous intra-arterial infusion of the calcium channel antagonist nimodipine for 1-5 days on the intensive care unit.MethodsIn thirty patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and refractory vasospasm continuous infusion of nimodipine was started on the neurosurgical intensive care unit. The effect of nimodipine on brain perfusion, cerebral blood flow, brain tissue oxygenation, and blood flow velocity in cerebral arteries was monitored.ResultsBased on Hunt & Hess grades on admission, 83% survived in a good clinical condition and 23% recovered without an apparent neurological deficit. Persistent ischemic areas were seen in 100% of patients with GOS 1-3 and in 69% of GOS 4-5 patients. Regional cerebral blood flow and computed tomography perfusion scanning showed adequate correlation with nimodipine application and angiographic vasospasm. Transcranial Doppler turned out to be unreliable with interexaminer variance and failure of detecting vasospasm or missing the improvement.ConclusionLocal continuous intra-arterial nimodipine treatment for refractory cerebral vasospasm after aSAH can be recommended as a low-risk treatment in addition to established endovascular therapies.

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