Antiischemic therapy of severe prolonged vasospasm after aneurysmal SAH: effects on quality of life.

Abstract

The in-between broad acceptance of early surgery and improved intensive care management have led to a significant reduction of vasospasm associated morbidity and mortality within the last 25 years. However, the large body of publications concerned with the prevention and treatment of vasospasm still denote its role as one of the major complications in the postoperative management after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Next to purely mechanical measures such as balloon dilatation of vasospastic vessels and intraarterial papaverine infusion, which as of now lack verification by means of larger controlled clinical trials, established medical treatment concepts focus on pharmacological approaches such as the calcium antagonist nimodipine and hypervolemic hemodilution and hypertension (“Triple-H” therapy).KeywordsSAHvasospasmtriple-H therapyquality of life