Postoperative intracranial pressure in patients operated on for cerebral aneurysms following subarachnoid hemorrhage.

The postoperative intracranial pressure (ICP) in 36 patients operated on for cerebral aneurysm following subarachnoid hemorrhage was studied. Not only was the baseline ICP significantly lower in patients whose outcome was assessed as "good" as compared with those patients with a worse outcome at 1 month after surgery, but also the height of the plateau waves and B-waves was significantly less in the patients who did well. The baseline ICP and the height of the B-wave formation were unrelated to the position of the aneurysm. Plateau waves were marginally significantly higher in aneurysms of the anterior communicating artery complex. Neither preoperative hypertension nor the use of antifibrinolytic agents made any difference to postoperative ICP. In patients with cerebral arterial vasospasm found preoperatively on the angiograms, the ICP tended to be lower in the postoperative period than in those without spasm.