Acute impairment of saccadic eye movements is associated with delayed cerebral ischemia after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

OBJECTIVEDelayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) causing cerebral infarction remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Early brain injury in the first 72 hours following rupture is likely to play a key role in the pathophysiology underlying DCI but remains difficult to quantify objectively. Current diagnostic modalities are based on the concept of vasoconstriction causing cerebral ischemia and infarction and are either invasive or have a steep learning curve and user variability. The authors sought to determine whether saccadic eye movements are impaired following aSAH and whether this measurement in the acute period is associated with the likelihood of developing DCI.METHODSAs part of a prospective, observational cohort study, 24 male and female patients (mean age 53 years old, range 31–70 years old) were recruited. Inclusion criteria included presentation with World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) Grades 1 or 2 (“good grade”) aSAH on...