Prevention of symptomatic vasospasm after SAH by constant venous infusion of nimodipine

Sixty-one patients with SAH due to rupture of a cerebral aneurysm, classified in Grades I to IV according to Hunt and Hess, received a constant venous infusion of Nimodipine in a dose of 2mg/h for at least 14 days, followed by an oral administration of 60 mg/6 h for at least 4 days. Patients admitted after the 6th day of SAH, patients with SAH but without aneurysm on the angiogram and patients in Grade V were excluded. Mortality in 30 patients of Grades I-II was 3.3%, in 31 patients of Grades III-IV 42%. In the latter group 1 patient died due to cerebral vasospasm. Transient vasospasm occurred in 2 patients of Grades I-II. Recovery was complete in both cases. Thus, incidence of cerebral vasospasm was 4.9%, the incidence of poor-outcome-vasospasm even only 1.6%. The syndrome of cerebral vasospasm seems to be more than only constriction of cerebral vessels. The deleterious effects of Ca2+ shift into vascular cells and into neural cells which causes irreversible damage are discussed. Early administration of a specific 'cerebral' calcium antagonist like Nimodipine after SAH will prevent the intracellular Ca2+ overloading, thus protecting the neural cells and preventing Ca2+-induced smooth-muscle contraction of cerebral vessels, which encourages ischaemic deficits after SAH. The preventive use of Nimodipine has markedly reduced the incidence of symptomatic vasospasm in our clinic.