Regional cerebral blood flow in patients with ruptured intracranial aneurysms

Eighty-five studies of regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) were performed on 49 patients with ruptured intracranial aneurysms. The changes in rCBF were analyzed under various pathophysiological conditions, The degree of flow abnormalities correlated well with the clinical severity of neurological deficits. All of the patients with diffuse vasospasm of severe grade, to less than half of their control value, showed focal areas of decreased flow below 30 ml/100 gm/min, in addition to a reduction in mean CBF. The relief or disappearance of vasospasm in angiograms was followed by the increase of rCBF in the ischemic focus and mean CBF. Marked reduction in rCBF was found in patients with intracerebral hematoma and ventricular dilatation. Impaired CO2 response and autoregulation were found in patients with severe neurological deficits, a severe degree of vasospasm and marked depression of CBF. In this series direct operation was delayed in patients with impaired vascular reactivity as well as marked decrease of mean CBF below 30 ml/100 gm/min; good clinical results were obtained in thses patients.