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Updated: Jun 6, 2026
10:34
Double Direct Injection of Blood into the Cisterna Magna as a Model of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Published on: August 30, 2020
Immunodepression after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage
Asita Sarrafzadeh1, Florian Schlenk, Andreas Meisel
1Department of Neurosurgery, Charité Campus Virchow Medical Center, Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Augustenburger Platz 1, 13353 Berlin, Germany. asita.sarrafzadeh@charite.de
Stroke
|November 20, 2010
Summary
Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) causes early immunodepression, particularly in symptomatic patients. This immune dysfunction is linked to a higher risk of pneumonia after aSAH.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Immunology
- Critical Care Medicine
Background:
- Immunodepression is a known complication after stroke, increasing infection rates.
- The impact of immunodepression on aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) outcomes remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence of immunodepression following aSAH.
- To determine the association between immunodepression and the incidence of infections post-aSAH.
Main Methods:
- A prospective pilot study involving 16 aSAH patients.
- Comprehensive immune monitoring included leukocyte subsets, monocyte HLA-DR expression, and ex vivo cytokine secretion until day 10.
- Infection occurrence was assessed within 14 days post-aSAH.
Main Results:
- aSAH induced T-lymphopenia, impaired cytokine secretion, and reduced monocyte HLA-DR expression in all patients.
- These immune deficits persisted beyond day 3 only in symptomatic patients.
- Pneumonia occurred more frequently (67%) in symptomatic patients, correlating with lower T-cell counts and interferon-γ production at day 1.
Conclusions:
- aSAH triggers early and pronounced immunodepression, which is sustained in symptomatic cases.
- This immunodepression is significantly associated with an increased incidence of pneumonia.
- Early identification of aSAH-induced immunodepression may enable targeted interventions to prevent infectious complications.
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