title: Posttraumatic cerebral arterial spasm.
abstract: Posttraumatic cerebral arterial spasm (vasospasm) has been demonstrated in the past by angiography, and recently by transcranial Doppler ultrasonography. Posttraumatic vasospasm is a delayed complication that involves the large basal intracranial arteries (e.g., internal carotid, middle cerebral, basilar) and occurs in 25-40% of head trauma patient. The time course of posttraumatic vasospasm resembles that of vasospasm associated with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage with onset occurring 2 or more days after injury. A study of the relationship of admission CT scan findings to the incidence of vasospasm suggests that intradural bleeding, which extends into the CSF (subarachnoid, intraventricular, and subdural hemorrhage), plays a role in the pathogenesis of posttraumatic arterial spasm. The preliminary results of a large prospective study of head trauma patients suggest that vasospasm may be an important determinant of outcome from severe head injury.
authors.affiliation: Cerebral Blood Flow Laboratory, UCLA Schools of Medicine and Public Health 90024, USA.
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Doberstein
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alexander
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khanna
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Benalcazar
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alsina
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zane
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: McBride
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hovda
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D002546:Ischemic Attack, Transient / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012306:Risk; D013035:Spasm / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology