Psychiatric symptoms in ruptured anterior communicating aneurysms: social prognosis.

Pre- and postoperative psychiatric symptoms were compared in 85 patients with anterior communicating aneurysms and 73 of these cases were followed up to determine the long-term results. Psychiatric symptoms of varying severity were present preoperatively in 61 % of the cases, which decreased to 34 % after surgery. Use of the microsurgery microscope resulted in a no change: aggravation:mortality ratio of 27:5:0, as compared with 33:20:4 when the microscope was not used.