Monitoring cerebral perfusion after subarachnoid hemorrhage using CT.

The aim of this prospective study was to assess the feasibility and diagnostic relevance of repetitive dynamic (contrast-enhanced) CT measurements of cerebral blood flow (CBF), cerebral blood volume (CBV), and mean transit time (MTT) in the first 3 weeks after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). In 15 patients with SAH, 59 dynamic CT studies including 944 regions of interest (ROI) were analyzed. The results were correlated with the clinical course and time after the event and the occurrence of vasospasm. Values for the entire series were 33.8+/-19.3 ml/100 g/min (CBF), 3.3+/-1.3 ml/100 g (CBV), and 7.3+/-3.9 s (MTT). Significant differences in CBF and CBV were found between ROI in grey and white matter, with time after the event, between patients with significant and absent or minor vasospasm, and between patients with and without a presumed vasospasm-related infarct.