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Updated: Apr 18, 2026

Double Direct Injection of Blood into the Cisterna Magna as a Model of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Published on: August 30, 2020
Inflammation, negative nitrogen balance, and outcome after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage
Neeraj Badjatia1, Aimee Monahan2, Amanda Carpenter2
1From the Section of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurology, Program in Trauma, Department of Neurology (N.B.), University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore; and the Neurological Institute of New York (A.M., A.C., J.Z., J.M.S., J.C., E.S.C., S.A.M.), Institute of Human Nutrition (W.K.), and Division of Preventive Medicine and Nutrition, Department of Internal Medicine (D.S.), Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY. nbadjatia@som.umaryland.edu.
Objective:
To analyze the impact of inflammation and negative nitrogen balance (NBAL) on nutritional status and outcomes after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).
Methods:
This was a prospective observational study of SAH patients admitted between May 2008 and June 2012. Measurements of C-reactive protein (CRP), transthyretin (TTR), resting energy expenditure (REE), and NBAL (g/day) were performed over 4 preset time periods during the first 14 postbleed days (PBD) in addition to daily caloric intake. Factors associated with REE and NBAL were analyzed with multivariable linear regression. Hospital-acquired infections (HAI) were tracked daily for time-to-event analyses. Poor outcome at 3 months was defined as a modified Rankin Scale score ≥ 4 and assessed by multivariable logistic regression.
Results:
There were 229 patients with an average age of 55 ± 15 years. Higher REE was associated with younger age (p = 0.02), male sex (p < 0.001), higher Hunt Hess grade (p = 0.001), and higher modified Fisher score (p = 0.01). Negative NBAL was associated with lower caloric intake (p < 0.001), higher body mass index (p < 0.001), aneurysm clipping (p = 0.03), and higher CRP:TTR ratio (p = 0.03). HAIs developed in 53 (23%) patients on mean PBD 8 ± 3. Older age (p = 0.002), higher Hunt Hess (p < 0.001), lower caloric intake (p = 0.001), and negative NBAL (p = 0.04) predicted time to first HAI. Poor outcome at 3 months was associated with higher Hunt Hess grade (p < 0.001), older age (p < 0.001), negative NBAL (p = 0.01), HAI (p = 0.03), higher CRP:TTR ratio (p = 0.04), higher body mass index (p = 0.03), and delayed cerebral ischemia (p = 0.04).
Conclusions:
Negative NBAL after SAH is influenced by inflammation and associated with an increased risk of HAI and poor outcome. Underfeeding and systemic inflammation are potential modifiable risk factors for negative NBAL and poor outcome after SAH.
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