Treatment of systemic hypertension and intracranial hypertension in cases of brain hemorrhage.

We studied the effects of nifedipine, chlorpromazine, reserpine, furosemide, and thiopental on the mean arterial blood pressure, mean intracranial pressure, and cerebral perfusion pressure in 38 patients with increased intracranial pressure resulting from either hemorrhagic cerebrovascular disease or systemic hypertension. These agents are widely used in neurosurgical practice for the treatment of systemic hypertension. Patients were assigned to two groups on the basis of their mean intracranial pressure. Group I comprised 20 patients with a mean intracranial pressure of 20-40 mm Hg (moderately increased ICP group), and Group II consisted of 18 patients with a mean intracranial pressure of greater than 40 mm Hg (severely increased ICP group). Nifedipine, chlorpromazine, and reserpine reduced mean arterial blood pressure by 18-20% in both groups (p less than 0.05 in each). In Group I these agents raised mean intracranial pressure by 10-35% and decreased cerebral perfusion pressure by 20-32% (p less than 0.05 for both), but in Group II these changes were more marked: mean intracranial pressure increased 38-64% and cerebral perfusion pressure decreased 40-54% (p less than 0.01 for both). Furosemide did not significantly reduce mean arterial blood pressure but slightly reduced mean intracranial pressure in each group. Thiopental reduced both mean arterial blood pressure and intracranial pressure in both groups. The effect on intracranial pressure was pronounced in Group II, in which mean arterial blood pressure fell by 18% (p less than 0.05) and mean intracranial pressure decreased 50% (p less than 0.01), whereas in Group I mean arterial blood pressure was reduced by 16% and mean intracranial pressure dropped 23% (p less than 0.05 in each).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)