To evaluate the effectiveness and to find out which grade (clinical and computed tomography) of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) patients are most effected with the medication of the calcium antagonist, we did this tudy. We selected 339 cases (study
cases)
among a total of 603 cases of SAH who were admitted to our hospital from Sept. 1982 to April 1991. The criteria of study cases are patients who were admitted and who had a brain computed tomography (CT) taken within 3 days after the SAH and who
had
a
clinical grade (Hung & Hess) on admission between I-IV.
We divided study cases into 3 groups. Group I: surgery was done more than 7 days after the SAH and together with non-surgical patients. No medication was used (N=126). Group II: surgery was done more than 7 days after the SAH and together with
non-surgical patients, medication of the calcium antagonist was given orally (N=120). Group III : surgery was done more than 7 days after the SAH and together with non-surgical patients, medication of nimodipine intravenously was given, and also
patients, medication of nimodipine intravenously was given, and also patients who received surgery did within 3 days after the SAH were given intravenous injection and cisternal irrigation of nimodipine (N=93).
We compared the overall management outcome and the incidence of delayed ischemic deficit (DID) and unfavoranble outcome due to DID in each group. We also analyzed the causes of unfavorable outcome according to the clinical grade on admission and
the
amount of blood in the cistern seen on the brain CT in each group.
The results of this study showed that overall management outcome was improved by using the calcium antagonist. The calcium antagonist reduced the incidence of DID as well as the unfavorable outcome related to DID.
In clinical grade III patients on admission, the unfavorable outcome due to DID was significantly lower in group II and III than in I (group I vs. II:P<0.05, group I vs. III:P<0.01). In cases with a large amount of blood in the cistern seen on
the
brain
CT, the unfavorable outcome was significantly lower in groups II and III than in I (group I vs. II:p<0.01, group I vs. III:p<0.05).
We conclude that the overall management outcome of aneurysmal SAH patients may be improved by using a calcium antagonist and the effect of the calcium antagonist is prominent in clinical grade III patients on admission and patients with a large
amounts
of blood in the cistern seen on the brain CT.
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