Early cerebral blood flow and vascular reactivity to acetazolamide in predicting the outcome after ruptured cerebral aneurysm.

The sequential cerebral blood flow (CBF) and CBF response to acetazolamide (AZ; 1 g i.v.) within 4 days after initial subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) were monitored in 50 patients by stable xenon-enhanced computed tomography (xenon CT). The mean global CBF of the subjects declined with the neurological grading (Hunt & Kosnik), and it was impossible to predict the occurrence of vasospasm from the value of the plain CBF at the acute phase of SAH. However, the CBF response to AZ at the acute phase of SAH among patients resulting in a poor outcome was significantly diminished compared to that among patients resulting in a good outcome. The usefulness of the CBF response to AZ in the acute phase of SAH is discussed.