Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a stroke subtype associated with high mortality and morbidity as a result of early and delayed ischemic processes. Nearly one quarter of all patients with SAH die shortly after hemorrhage because of elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) and the resulting global cerebral ischemia.1,2 Hospitalized patients further experience severe complications, including rebleeding, early brain injury, and delayed cerebral ischemia, which together contribute to a devastatingly high 1-month mortality rate of 50%. 1,2 Early brain injury is the predominant cause of death after SAH and is characterized by elevated ICP, decreased cerebral blood flow (CBF), and global cerebral ischemia resulting in secondary injuries, including disruption of the blood-brain barrier, inflammation, and oxidative stress, which all cause neuronal cell death. [3][4][5] In both animal and clinical studies, the severity of bleeding and the extent of decreased CBF correlated with neurological outcome [6][7][8] ; however, how and to what extent the initial global ischemia or subsequent elevated ICP contribute to early brain injury remains poorly understood. [3][4][5] A feasible way to reduce elevated ICP is decompressive craniectomy (DC), a technique that dates back more than a century. 9 In recent years, both animal and clinical studies reported beneficial effects of DC for treating conditions, such as traumatic brain injury 10,11 and malignant middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarction. 12,13 With respect to SAH, however, relatively few studies have been published regarding the application of DC and its effect on outcome; moreover, the results published to date are contradictory and controversial. [14][15][16][17][18] To address these questions, we performed DC to evaluate the role of SAH-induced elevated ICP and subsequent global ischemia and to investigate whether DC may serve as a therapeutic option for SAH using a standardized animal model.
MethodsIn total, 41 male C57BL/6 mice (22-25 g; Charles River Laboratories, Sulzfeld, Germany) were used. All experiments were approved by the Government of Upper Bavaria (protocol number 55.2.1.54-2532-90-13) and were performed in accordance with standard ethical guidelines.
Experimental DesignInitially, 40 animals were assigned randomly to the following 4 experimental groups: sham surgery, SAH, DC after SAH, and DC before SAH (Figure 1). All assessments were performed by an Background and Purpose-Elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) is a key feature of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Here, we examined the role of elevated ICP in the pathophysiology of SAH, and we investigated whether decreasing ICP by performing decompressive craniectomy (DC) can improve outcome. Methods-SAH was induced in male C57BL/6 mice via endovascular Circle of Willis perforation in the following 4 groups:sham surgery, SAH, DC after SAH, and DC before SAH. DC was performed either 15 minutes before or after SAH induction. ICP, cerebral blood flow, heart rate, oxygen saturation, and end-tidal PCO 2 were monitored for ...