The use of intravenous Milrinone to treat cerebral vasospasm following traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage.

INTRODUCTION: Traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is a common intracranial lesion after traumatic brain injury (TBI). As in aneurysmal SAH, cerebral vasospasm is a common cause of secondary brain injury and is associated with the thickness of traumatic SAH. Unfortunately, there is limited literature on an effective treatment of this entity. The vasodilatory and inotropic agent, Milrinone, has been shown to be effective in treating vasospasm following aneurysmal SAH. The authors hypothesized that this agent could be useful and safe in treating vasospasm following tSAH.

CASE DESCRIPTIONS: Case reports of 2 TBI cases from a level 1 trauma centre with tSAH and whom developed delayed ischemic neurological deficits (DINDs) are presented. Intravenous Milrinone treatment was provided to each patient following the "Montreal Neurological Hospital Protocol".

DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION: Both patients had an improvement in their DINDs following the treatment protocol. There were no complications of treatment and the Glasgow Outcome Scores of the patients ranged from 4 to 5.

CONCLUSION: This is the first report of the use of intravenous Milrinone to treat cerebral vasospasm following traumatic SAH. This treatment option appeared to be safe and potentially useful at treating post-traumatic vasospasm. Prospective studies are necessary to establish Milrinone's clinical effectiveness in treating this type of cerebral vasospasm.