Cerebral vasospasm in elderly patients treated by early operation for ruptured intracranial aneurysms

Cerebral vasospasm in elderly patients was studied under strict criteria. A total of 145 patients, who had been operated on in the acute stage after subarachnoid haemorrhage, were classified into two age groups. Those aged 59 years or younger were in group 1 (76 cases, 52%), and those aged 60 years or older were in group 2 (69 cases, 48%). The severities of both the subarachnoid haemorrhage on computed tomography scan and the angiographic vasospasm were graded from 0 to IV. Close correlations were found in both groups for the angiographic vasospasm grades to the incidences of both symptomatic vasospasm and low-density areas on computed tomography scan. Angiographic vasospasm was observed in 95% of group 1 and in 91% of group 2 patients. The incidences of permanent symptomatic vasospasm were 14% in group 1 and 19% in group 2. Low-density areas on computed tomography occurred in 16% of group 1 and in 17% of group 2. Generally, the higher the clinical grades and/or the higher the subarachnoid haemorrhage grades, the more severe were the vasospasms. These tendencies were more apparent in subarachnoid haemorrhage grading. The mortality rates were 8% in group 1 and 17% in group 2. However, when both the clinical grades and the subarachnoid haemorrhage grades were analyzed, there were no significant differences between groups 1 and 2 in either the severity of vasospasm or in the outcome. It must be concluded that neither the angiographic vasospasm grades nor the incidence of symptomatic vasospasm are significantly effected by age.