Blood Pressure Affects the Early CT Perfusion Imaging in Patients with aSAH Reflecting Early Disturbed Autoregulation

Early computed tomography perfusion (CTP) is frequently used to predict delayed cerebral ischemia following aneurysmatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). However, the influence of blood pressure on CTP is currently controversial (HIMALAIA trial), which differs from our clinical observations. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the influence of blood pressure on early CTP imaging in patients with aSAH.

We retrospectively analyzed the mean transit time (MTT) of early CTP imaging within 24 h after bleeding prior to aneurysm occlusion with respect to blood pressure shortly before or after the examination in 134 patients. We correlated the cerebral blood flow with the cerebral perfusion pressure in the case of patients with intracranial pressure measurement. We performed a subgroup analysis of good-grade (World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies [WFNS] I-III), poor-grade (WFNS IV-V), and solely WFNS grade V aSAH patients.

Mean arterial pressure (MAP) significantly correlated inversely with the mean MTT in early CTP imaging (R =  - 0.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] - 0.34 to - 0.01, p = 0.042). Lower mean blood pressure was significantly associated with a higher mean MTT. Subgroup analysis revealed an increasing inverse correlation when comparing WFNS I-III (R =  - 0.08, 95% CI - 0.31 to 0.16, p = 0.53) patients with WFNS IV-V (R =  - 0.2, 95% CI - 0.42 to 0.05, p = 0.12) patients, without reaching statistical significance. However, if only patients with WFNS V are considered, a significant and even stronger correlation between MAP and MTT (R =  - 0.4, 95% CI - 0.65 to 0.07, p = 0.02) is observed. In patients with intracranial pressure monitoring, a stronger dependency of cerebral blood flow on cerebral perfusion pressure is observed for poor-grade patients compared with good-grade patients.

The inverse correlation between MAP and MTT in early CTP imaging, increasing with the severity of aSAH, suggests an increasing disturbance of cerebral autoregulation with the severity of early brain injury. Our results emphasize the importance of maintaining physiological blood pressure values in the early phase of aSAH and preventing hypotension, especially in patients with poor-grade aSAH.