Retrospective analysis of parenteral magnesium sulfate administration in decreased incidence of clinical and neuroradiological cerebral vasospasm: A single center experience

Objective: Experimental work suggests a neuroprotective role for magnesium sulfate in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. We retrospectively review the incidence of clinically relevant vasospasm in patients treated or not with continuous magnesium infusion after onset of subarachnoid hemorrhage. Methods: All patient records in Albany Medical Center with the diagnosis of SAH between January 1999 and June 2004 were reviewed. Patients who presented to the emergency department within 72 hours of onset were entered in the study. Patients were defined as in clinical vasospasm if there was an acute neurological change in association with abnormal trancranial Doppler (TCD), CT angiogram (CTA) or digital subtraction angiography (DSA). Results: A total of 85 patients were selected. Magnesium sulfate was infused in 43 patients. When compared with patients who did not receive MgSO4, there was a statistically significant lower incidence of clinical and radiological vasospasm in those who had the continuous infusion of magnesium sulfate (p,0.01). There was no statistically significant difference between patients who were coiled or clipped. Conclusion: Continuous magnesium sulfate infusion for the management of clinically significant cerebral vasospasm is safe and reduces the incidence of clinically significant cerebral vasospasm. Large, multicenter, controlled studies should be performed in order to determine the true effectiveness of the treatment in a controlled setting.