Clinical assessment of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage using I-123 HIPDM SPECT imaging

The author sought to determine if clinically significant changes in regional cerebral perfusion in patients with subarachnoid bleeding from intracranial aneurysms could be documented by single photon emission CT (SPECT) imaging. Eighteen I-123 HIPDM SPECT studies were carried out in patients with aneurysmal bleeding. The results of SPECT imaging correlated well with clinical findings in nine of 11 studies performed in patients with focal neurological deficits. In one patient an area of focal hyperemia was detected that resolved with time. Three patients had deficits attributable to vasospasms; SPECT imaging accurately reflected the clinical course in all three. SPECT imaging of regional cerebral perfusion is a useful tool in the management of patients with bleeding aneurysms