Perioperative Application of Ultrasonographic Perfusion Study in 31 Cases of Cerebral Hemorrhage

Between December 2000 and April 2002, we examined the cerebral perfusion of 31 patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) who underwent stereotaxic hematoma evacuation (SHE). Cerebral perfusion was studied by contrast ultrasonography with pulse inversion harmonic imaging (ICIp), which is more effective than conventional harmonic imaging.The ultrasound instrument was an HDI 5000 and the sector probe was one of the broad-banded type (P4-2). The microbubbled contrast agent was injected into the right median cubital vein. The frame rate was set to trigger images once every 2 cardiac cycles and to record for three minutes. In this way, we were able to obtain ICIp and transfer the data to a personal computer. We analyzed the images using HDILab and obtained the time intensity curves (TIC). Examinations after the operation were performed using the same procedure on the skin at the same location.We found significant differences in the areas under the curves (Tables 1 & 2). These tests indicated improvement of cerebral perfusion in the surrounding area after SHE and also that a better neurological status could be attained using the SHE method for ICH patients.