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Improvement in Angiographic Cerebral Vasospasm after Intra-Arterial Verapamil Administration
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Improvement in Angiographic Cerebral Vasospasm after Intra-Arterial Verapamil Administration

J. V SEHY, W. E HOLLOWAY, S.-P LIN, D. T CROSS, C. P DERDEYN and C. J MORAN
American journal of neuroradiology : AJNR, Vol.31(10), pp.1923-1928
2010
DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.A2215
PMID: 20705701
url
https://doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A2215View
Published (Version of record) Open Access

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Endovascular options for therapy for patients with vasospasm after SAH include angioplasty and intra-arterial vasodilator infusion. Preliminary studies of the effects of the calcium channel antagonist verapamil on angiographic vasospasm have yielded mixed and/or qualitative results. In this study, improvement in angiographic vasospasm after intra-arterial verapamil administration is demonstrated with quantitative, blinded methods. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective observational case series includes 12 patients with vasospasm after SAH who collectively received 16 treatments with intra-arterial verapamil during a 2-year period at our institution. The exclusion criterion was concurrent treatment with angioplasty. Blinded reviewers quantitatively evaluated angiograms from each patient and/or treatment after presentation with SAH and before and after intra-arterial treatment of vasospasm. RESULTS: Patients were treated with intra-arterial verapamil for vasospasm 9 ± 4 days after SAH with a range from 1 to 16 days. For the 34 arterial distributions treated, the segment with the worst angiographic vasospasm from each arterial distribution averaged 51 ± 13% stenosis, which improved to 29 ± 18% stenosis (P < .001). There was no significant difference in treatment effect in proximal arterial segments, which may be amenable to angioplasty, compared with distal segments (P > .05). There was no significant difference in treatment effect in arterial segments previously subjected to angioplasty compared with other segments (P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: Intra-arterially administered verapamil improves angiographic vasospasm after SAH when administered at 10 ± 3 mg per arterial distribution. Optimal dose, infusion rate, and retreatment interval remain to be determined. Randomized controlled trials are needed to prove efficacy in the treatment of clinical vasospasm.
Nervous System Neurosurgery Radiodiagnosis. Nmr imagery. Nmr spectrometry Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects) Biological and medical sciences Cerebrospinal fluid. Spinal cord. Spinal roots. Spinal nerves Medical sciences Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases

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