The Relationship between Pulmonary Dysfunction and Age in Vasospasm Patients Receiving Triple H Therapy

Abstract

Background and Introduction: Triple H therapy is conventionally used to treat vasospasm following sub-arachnoid hemorrhage (SAH)
but can sometimes have side effects. In order to investigate pulmonary complications in SAH patients and relationship with age we
conducted the following study.
Methods: The charts of 121 sub-arachnoid hemorrhage patients who underwent clipping
or coiling of an aneurysm were retrospectively reviewed. The diagnosis of vasospasm was
documented based on Doppler and angiographic findings. All patients with vasospasm
received the standard Triple H therapy (hematocrit 33-38%, central venous pressure 10-12
mmHg, systolic blood pressure 160-200 mmHg). We studied intravenous intake, artificial
ventilation, hypoxemia/pulmonary edema, postoperative fever, pneumonia and death
rates as outcome variables.
Results: Sixty five patients developed vasospasm (15 mild, 23 moderate, 27
severe). These were significantly younger than non-vasospasm patients (51 years
vs. 61 years, p=0.004). The average daily intravenous input was 1,730 cc in novasospasm patients, 2,123 cc in the mild vasospasm group, 2,399 cc in the moderate
vasospasm group, and 3,040 cc in the severe vasospasm group. Younger patients
with moderate to severe vasospasm received more fluids than older patients.
Ten patients (8.3%) developed hypoxemia or pulmonary edema. No patient developed
hypoxemia/pulmonary edema in the mild vasospasm group and the rates did not
show a trend and were not statistically different (7.1%, 0.0%, 13.0%, 11.1%, p>0.05) between vasospasm and non-vasospasm
groups. Likewise, postoperative fever and pneumonia rates were not different between the vasospasm and non-vasospasm groups.
Using the mean age as a threshold, pulmonary-related complications including death rates tended to be higher in the older group.
The rates of postoperative ventilation (30.8% vs. 57.1%, P<0.01) and hypoxemia/pulmonary edema (3.1% vs. 14.3%, P<0.05) rates were
statistically higher in the older group. Patients who developed hypoxemia/pulmonary edema in the vasospasm group tended to be
younger than those who developed hypoxemia/pulmonary edema in the non-vasospasm group.
Conclusion: Younger patients are at a higher risk of developing vasospasm than older patients possibly referable to vessel elasticity and
reactive sensitivity factors. Likewise, patients who developed hypoxemia/pulmonary edema in the vasospasm group were younger than
in the non-vasospasm group possibly secondary to fluid overload from triple H therapy.