[Vasospasm and ischemia in a series of 60 aneurysms treated quickly surgically]

Sixty patients with ruptured cerebral aneurysms were operated during the first 3 days after the onset of bleeding. In all cases the following investigations were performed: before surgery and 10 days after surgery angiography and CTScan, two months later a control CTScan. The first CTScans have been classified according to the staging defined by Fisher. Vasospasms (VS) were assessed comparing the arteriographies before and after surgery and classified as narrow or moderate; ischemia were assessed on post surgical CTScans. VS were found in any of the Fisher grades but were more frequent in grade 4; they occurred in 50% of cases (30 cases). Narrow VS were found 17 times in any Fisher grade. Ischemia occurred in 7 cases (1 death); following narrow VS in 6 cases. The high incidence of VS demonstration is emphasized: it is probably due to the lag time between bleeding and angiography and to the fact that angiographic controls were systematically performed. On the other hand ischemia occurred in 7 patients: the respective role of normalized intracranial pressure, hypervolemia, drug use and surgical procedure are discussed as candidate factors of this low incidence.