Effects of hypervolemia and hypertension on regional cerebral blood flow, intracranial pressure, and brain tissue oxygenation after subarachnoid hemorrhage*

Abstract

Vasopressor-induced elevation of mean arterial pressure caused a significant increase of regional cerebral blood flow and brain tissue oxygenation in all patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage. Volume expansion resulted in a slight effect on regional cerebral blood flow only but reversed the effect on brain tissue oxygenation. In view of the questionable benefit of hypervolemia on regional cerebral blood flow and the negative consequences on brain tissue oxygenation together with the increased risk of complications, hypervolemic therapy as a part of triple-H therapy should be applied with utmost caution.