Cerebral blood flow monitoring in subarachnoid hemorrhage patients with diffuse correlation spectroscopy

Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a neurosurgical emergency that results from the rupture of an aneurysm in the subarachnoid space. One common complication of SAH is cerebral vasospasm, which can lead to a secondary stroke. Intrathecal (IT) Nicardipine holds promise in treating cerebral vasospasm through its direct vasodilatory effect on the cerebral vasculature. Here, we used diffuse correlation spectroscopy to continuously monitor microvascular cerebral blood flow changes in medium-high grade subarachnoid hemorrhage patients in response to the first dose of IT Nicardipine. To date, we have recruited 9 patients, 3 of whom developed a secondary stroke.