1/45. Bedside-microdialysis for early detection of vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage. Case report and review of the literature.Continuous monitoring of cerebral metabolism would be desirable for early detection of vasospasm in SAH patients. Bedside-microdialysis, a new technique for on-line monitoring of cerebral metabolism, may reflect changes seen in cerebral vasospasm diagnosed by transcranial Doppler sonography (TCD). This report represents the first case of combined TCD monitoring and on-line microdialysis from the brain extracellular fluid in a SAH patient. A 48-year-old woman suffered subarachnoid hemorrhage grade IV according to Hunt and Hess. angiography revealed an aneurysm of the left carotid artery. The aneurysm was clipped 45 hours after bleeding. The microdialysis catheter was inserted after aneurysm clipping into the white matter of the left temporal lobe. Sampling of microdialysates started immediately, analyzing time for glucose, lactate, pyruvate and glutamate was four minutes. Postoperatively, the patient was doing well and microdialysis and TCD parameters remained within normal range. On the third postoperative day a shift to anaerob metabolism (decrease of glucose, increase of lactate and the lactate-pyruvate ratio up to pathological levels) and an increase in glutamate was observed suggesting insufficient cerebral perfusion. The patient progressively deteriorated clinically. Vasospasm was diagnosed by TCD monitoring 36 hours after onset of ischemic changes monitored by microdialysis. After elevation of mean arterial blood pressure, TCD values and metabolic parameters normalized. Interestingly, the pathological changes in on-line microdialysis preceded the typical increase in blood flow velocity by TCD and the clinical deterioration. Our case suggests, that bedside-microdialysis may be useful for early detection of vasospasm and continuous surveillance of treatment and may be a new guide to treat ischemic neurological deficits following SAH.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/45. Positional vertebrobasilar transient ischaemic attacks treated with vertebral angioplasty.We report the case of a man presenting with a brain-stem stroke from which he recovered fully, who developed right-sided weakness and numbness on walking despite no demonstrable postural fall in arterial blood pressure. angiography revealed an occluded left vertebral artery, a tight stenosis at the origin of the right vertebral artery and non-patent left posterior communicating artery. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty to the right vertebral stenosis results in a good angiographic result, and remission of symptoms which has persisted for 1 year. Identification of such patients with vertebrobasilar positional haemodynamic symptoms due to a focal stenosis is important as angioplasty offers an effective therapeutic option.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/45. hypertensive encephalopathy as a complication of hyperdynamic therapy for vasospasm: report of two cases.OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: After developing subarachnoid hemorrhage, patients may deteriorate from a variety of well-known causes, including rebleeding, hydrocephalus, and vasospasm. Many patients now undergo empirical hyperdynamic vasospasm therapy with hypervolemia, induced hypertension, and nimodipine. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: We report two cases of iatrogenic hypertensive encephalopathy occurring during hyperdynamic therapy for cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage. hypertensive encephalopathy is a syndrome of rapidly evolving generalized or focal cerebral symptoms occurring in the setting of severe hypertension, which is reversible with antihypertensive therapy. INTERVENTION: The syndrome can be diagnosed in the appropriate clinical setting with computed tomographic or magnetic resonance imaging that demonstrates characteristic findings. In both cases, decreasing the blood pressure resulted in neurological improvement. CONCLUSION: In the setting of induced hypertensive/hypervolemic therapy for vasospasm, hypertensive encephalopathy should be considered as a potentially reversible cause of delayed neurological decline.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/45. Carotid ligation for carotid aneurysms.Thirty patients with subarachnoid haemorrhage due to rupture of a carotid aneurysm were treated by ligation of the common carotid artery. Two patients died as a result of the procedure, two patients developed persisting hemisphere deficit. Eight of the ten patients who developed cerebral ischemia after the operation were operated within ten days after the bleeding. At present out aim is to guide the patient safely through the first ten days after his haemorrhage and perform ligation at the end of the second week. After a follow up period of 1-8 years recurrent haemorrhage did not occur. Common carotid ligation, preferably with control of carotid artery end pressure, cerebral blood-flow and EEG is considered to be a valuable method to treat ruptured intracranial carotid aneurysm.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/45. Apical aneurysm and left ventricular hypertrophy.A 59-year-old woman presented with an embolic transient ischemic attack and a history of controlled hypertension for 16 years. Both echocardiogram and MRI showed severe biventricular hypertrophy and an apical aneurysm with a thrombus. The occurrence of an apical aneurysm in the presence of cardiac hypertrophy is a rare finding and has been described in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. However, it has not been reported in patients with systemic arterial hypertension. In this patient the lack of a relationship between the severity of the hypertrophy and the levels of blood pressure, together with the presence of histologic disorganization of myocardial cardiac muscle cells by endomyocardial biopsy suggested the diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/45. Endovascular repair of an innominate artery true aneurysm.PURPOSE: To describe endovascular repair of a large aneurysm of the innominate artery in a patient with episodes of transient cerebral ischemia. CASE REPORT: A 44-year-old man with a history of transient hemiparesis and aphasia demonstrated a large mass in the upper right hemithorax on chest radiography. Systolic brachial pressure in the right arm was 100 mm Hg versus 130 mm Hg in the left. Imaging disclosed a large 12-mm-diameter aneurysm involving the brachiocephalic trunk 1 cm above its origin and the first portion of the right subclavian artery, which was occluded after the dilated segment. The aneurysm was treated with a tapered endograft made from polyester graft attached to a Palmaz stent inserted via a carotid artery arteriotomy. The distal end of the graft was anastomosed to the common carotid artery. Completion angiography showed exclusion of the aneurysm, which has been confirmed by imaging at 21 months. After 2 years, the patient is free from neurological symptoms and has a strong carotid pulse; no arm claudication developed. CONCLUSIONS: Endovascular correction of innominate artery aneurysms is feasible whenever there is an adequate proximal neck for attachment. In these cases, thoracotomy may be avoided.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/45. rCBF in impending brain death.Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured in three patients after relief of elevated intracranial pressure and restoration of normal cerebral perfusion pressure. Two patients, studied within 4 hours after closed head injury were found to have marked impairment of cortical blood flow and elevation of cerebrovascular resistance. We suggest that this picture is indicative of impending brain death, and may be the result of a long period of severe cerebral ischemia. The third patient, who had a shorter period of intracranial hypertension occurring during anaesthetic induction, responded to reduction of ICP quite differently with a transient relative hyperaemia. The physiopathological explanations for these two different types of flow response and their possible clinical significance are discussed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 2keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/45. A case of severe hypertension caused by ACTH-independent macronodular adrenal hyperplasia.This report describes a rare case of ACTH-independent macronodular adrenal hyperplasia (AIMAH) arisen with symptomatic severe hypertension and hypokaliemia. A 55-year-old man was admitted to hospital with a clinical picture characterized by several episodes of transient ischemic attacks (TIA) and right hemiplegia, related to severe arterial hypertension. Laboratory tests showed urinary levels of catecholamines, metanephrines and vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) in normal range; high urinary free cortisol excretion, elevated serum cortisol with loss of the circadian rhythm and low ACTH plasma levels. ACTH failed to respond to CRH administration. serum cortisol levels were not modified after high doses of dexamethasone. MRI showed bilateral macronodular hyperplasia of adrenal glands, whereas pituitary-MRI did not show tumoral lesions. Therefore, ACTH-independent macronodular hyperplasia was suspected. Though obese, the patient had no typical Cushing habit, and symptomatic hypertension with hypokaliemia was the only clinical evidence for this rare kind of Cushing's syndrome. After obtaining a satisfactory control of blood pressure, the patient was successfully submitted to laparoscopic bilateral adrenalectomy and underwent complete clinical remission. The histology showed adrenal macronodular hyperplasia. During the twenty-four month follow-up, the patient had no further transient ischemic attacks or need of glucocorticoid replacement therapy and withdrew the antihypertensive drugs.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/45. The problem of dizziness and syncope in old age: transient ischemic attacks versus hypersensitive carotid sinus reflex.In the elderly, a transient ischemic attack (TIA) and a hypersensitive carotid sinus reflex (HCSR) often co-exist and can pose a diagnostic challenge. Seven cases are presented. HCSR is a relative condition; besides increased irritability of the receptor or target organs, susceptibility of the nerve center to ischemia probably is induced by a slow heart rate or low blood pressure in any patient with pre-existing occlusive cerebrovascular disease. dizziness and syncope of this type represent hemodynamic TIA in contrast to thromboembolic TIA. The carotid sinus massage test is recommended for differentiating the two types of TIA; the treatments differ. At present there is no uniform management that can be applied to either TIA or HCSR routinely. Therefore, treatment should be approached on an individual basis, keeping in mind the different pathophysiologic factors operating in the specific patient.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/45. Massive nasal bleeding and hemodynamic instability associated with clopidogrel.A 58-year-old woman was brought to our emergency department with massive nasal bleeding and hemodynamic instability. The patient had been on clopidogrel treatment (75 mg/day) for 2 years, which was started after an episode of transitory ischemic attack. blood pressure normalized following the administration of intravenous fluids, and the bleeding stopped after nasal tamponade and desmopressin therapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = pressure (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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