Brain edema after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage
Primary brain swelling increases brain volume after aSAH.
Given the importance of edema to the outcome of patients with aSAH and its status as a highly modifiable pathological process, a better understanding of cerebral edema in aSAH promises to hasten the development of medical therapies to improve outcomes in this frequently devastating disease 1)
Diagnosis
Outcome
Global edema is an independent risk factor for mortality and poor outcome after SAH. Loss of consciousness, which may reflect ictal circulatory brain arrest, is a risk factor for admission global edema, and vasopressor-induced hypertension is associated with the development of delayed global edema. Critical care management strategies that minimize edema formation after SAH may improve outcome 2).