Distribution of angiographic vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage: implications for diagnosis by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography.

A study was undertaken to determine how frequently angiographic vasospasm occurs outside the normal access range of transcranial Doppler ultrasound in patients who have suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage. Vasospasm located in the basal vessels is readily identifiable using transcranial Doppler ultrasound whereas spasm affecting the more distal, vertically oriented arteries is outside the standard detection range. It is therefore speculated that the sensitivity of the technique would be adversely affected by a high incidence of distal vasospasm. A total of 136 angiograms performed on 68 patients after a subarachnoid hemorrhage from anterior circulation aneurysms were reviewed to determine the typical distribution of vasospasm. Of the 40 cases that showed greater than or equal to 25% vessel narrowing, 50.0% had spasm restricted to the basal vessels, 42.5% had spasm involving both basal and distal segments, and 7.5% had spasm of the distal segments only. None of the patients with distal vasospasm alone developed delayed ischemic deficits. It is concluded that most patients with anterior circulation aneurysms who develop vasospasm will have involvement of the basal vessels, but a small number of patients may develop vasospasm only in distal vessels.