Neuropsychologic impact of treatment modalities in subarachnoid hemorrhage: clipping is no different from coiling

This study assesses the impairment in activities of everyday life using a novel test battery following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and its treatment.

A one-off neuropsychologic assessment was conducted for all patients who agreed to participate in the study. The date of the interview was at least 12 months after the ictus. The aspects tested included attention, memory, mood, and executive functions. Thirty normal subjects were also assessed using the same battery of tests to act as controls. The data was analyzed using JMP, version 8.0.2. The project was approved by the local research ethics committee and was performed under the tenets of the Helsinki declaration.

Analysis from 77 patients and 30 controls is presented. Patients in the SAH group had significant deficits of sustained attention and attentional switching and executive functions when compared to normal controls (P < 0.05, χ(2)). Within the SAH patient group, the deficits were independent of the subgroup to which the patients belonged (coiled, clipped, and perimesencephalic hemorrhage, P > 0.05, χ(2)). The perimesencephalic hemorrhage group had fewer deficits as compared to the coiled and clipped groups, but because there were very few patients in this group, statistical significance was not achieved for these results.

Our results reflect a change in UK practice in treating aneurysms, the majority being treated with endovascular coiling. After more than 12 months postictus, attention and executive functions were found to be significantly impaired. Significant deficits remain in various cognitive domains following an SAH, but these appear to be independent of the treatment modality according to our data.