Background
Delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) is a serious, life-threatening, complication affecting patients who have survived the initial bleeding from a ruptured intracranial aneurysm. Due to the challenging diagnosis, potential DCI prognostic markers should be of value in clinical practice. According to recent reports isoprostanes and red blood cell distribution (RDW) showed to be promising in this respect.
Methods
We conducted a prospective study with a control group (n=8), recruiting aSAH patients (n=27), who underwent surgery within the first day of the initial bleeding. We collected data regarding clinical status and results of biochemical, and radiological examinations. We measured cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentration of 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α (F2-IsoP) and RDW on day 1, 3, and 5.
Results
Both CSF F2-IsoP level and RDW measured on day 1 were significant predictors of DCI. The receiver operating characteristics curve for DCI prediction based on the multivariate model yielded an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.924 (95%CI: 0.824-0.1, p<0.01).
Conclusions
In our study, the model based on the combination of RDW and the level of isoprostanes in CSF on the first day after the initial bleeding showed a prognostic value for DCI prediction. Further studies are required to validate this observation.