Cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage from intracranial aneurysm rupture in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients. A retrospective review from two Bulgarian hospitals

Abstract

Intracranial aneurysms are acquired lesions resulting from hemodynamic stress on the vascular wall. Their rupture usually presents as a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) with a high mortality rate. Cerebral vasospasm follows, which leads in many cases to delayed brain ischemia and even death. We aimed to explore the relationship between cerebral perfusion and coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in aneurysmal SAH. We analyzed 42 cases that underwent treatment for proven SAH due to ruptured cerebral aneurysms between January 2020 and December 2021. The patients were treated adhering to a standard protocol. The cerebral vasospasm was assessed by measuring the difference in the mean arterial pressure of the carotid artery relative to the internal cerebral artery (Lindegaard’s ratio) by transcranial Doppler ultrasound for 12 consecutive days. Twenty-three patients showed no signs of an acute respiratory syndrome associated with COVID-19 but tested positive for the SARS-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The control group included 19 SARS-CoV-2 negative cases. The mean age was 59.7 ± 8.4 years (range 44-72), with 29 males and 13 females. The mean arterial pressure was without a significant difference of 89.3 ± 3.3 to 89.7 ± 3.7 mmHg in SARS-CoV-2 negative to positive patients. When viral infection was evident, we observed a higher Lindegaard’s ratio of 2.12 ± 0.36 than the control, with a value of 1.43 ± 0.33 (p < 0.01). Thus, brain perfusion was 32.5% better in negative patients. We suggest that SARS-CoV-2 positive patients, without acute COVID-19, are more likely to have worse brain perfusion after SAH from cerebral aneurysm rupture.