[Pharmacologic therapy of subarachnoid hemorrhage]

Medical treatment of subarachnoid haemorrhage, is focused on the prevention of rebleeding and vasospasm, of damages of oxitading products, and on the improvement of general conditions of the patient. Some authors consider use of antifibrinolytic usefull to reduce the risk of rebleeding, but the percentage of hydrocephalus and ischemia are increased. In our Centre combination of nimodipine-cloricromene and hemodilution is used for the prevention of vasospasm. We report conclusions about 216 patients in I-II-III grade of Hunt-Hess scale, treated before 48 hours from SAH. We obtained only 8% postspasm ischemias, with no neurological deficit, and only 23% of increased cerebral blood flow revealed by transcranial Doppler. Cloricromene is used only after aneurysm is occlused. It presents different action mechanisms. It is an inhibitor of platelet activation and aggregation, of cyclooxygenase and lipooxygenase activity, so reducing thromboxanes ratio. Phospholipase A2 inhibition it's possible but not demonstrated. It also interferes with phosphoinositoles path and so with proteinkinase C activity, and reduces hemostatic thrombotic balance activation and leukocyte endothelial adhesion and activation. It reduces, finally, the release of free radicals, cytokines inflammation amplyfing. The reduced damage to the endothelium allows the releasing of vasodilatatory agents like NO.

[Therapeutic decisions and grading of subarachnoid hemorrhage]

Early admission and medical treatment can improve prognosis in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). In our Centre in 10 years, 595 patients with SAH have been treated: 422 were admitted within 24 hours (71%) and 498 (84%) within 72 hours. 374 underwent surgical treatment: 283 within 48 hours and 91 underwent late surgery. Thirty-three patients underwent emergency surgery for intracranial hematomas, with a mortality rate of 30%. One hundred eighty-one patients in Hunt-Hess grade I-II underwent early surgery. Mortality rate was 7%. Mortality rate for rebleeding, when surgery was delayed was more than 10%. Patients in Hunt-Hess grade III underwent early surgery in the majority of cases (68 out of 111). Only in 52% of cases surgical result was good. Thirty-four out of 108 in grade IV-V underwent early surgery, with a mortality rate of 45%. The analysis of general results shows that early surgery improves prognosis in Hunt-Hess grade III patients. Also patients in Hunt-Hess grade III-IV-V can take advantage of early surgery. Old age, arterial hypertension and angiographical vasospasm do not worsen prognosis even in patients operated on early. Endovascular treatment even in acute phase has improved results especially in cases of certain aneurysms types such as posterior circulation aneurysms.

Blending administrative and clinical needs: the development of a referring physician database and automatic referral letter

The development of a system to collect and verify the name of a patient's referring physician and link that to the automatic production of a referral letter and discharge summary is described.