Abstract
The authors applied oxygenation at high pressure (OHP) to 49 patients who developed mental signs lasting more than approximately two weeks following direct operation of cerebral aneurysms. Aneurysms of 30 cases were located at the anterior communicating and the anterior cerebral arteries (AC group), while the aneurysms of 19 cases were at the other arteries (non-AC group). Twenty six cases were operated on within two weeks after the attack of subarachnoid hemorrhage and the other 23 cases underwent direct operation later than two weeks after the attack. OHP was performed one hour per a day under conditions of exposure to oxygen pressure of two atmospheres.
The results obtained are as follows.
1) 47% in AC group and 63% in non-AC group took excellent or moderate recovery by OHP.
2) Loss of spontaneity and disorientation were signs which were improved satisfactorily by OHP, while akinetic mutism and Korsakoff's syndrome were hard-to-cure signs even by OHP.
3) Excellent or moderate recovery was noted more frequently in patients who underwent OHP within one month following clipping of aneurysms.
4) On the follow-up studies, no or slight residue of mental signs were 78% in the patients who were treated by OHP and 60% in the patients without OHP. In addition, marked residue or dead patients was 5% in the patients treated by OHP, and 24% in the patients without OHP. The patients with moderate and marked neurological deficits took better outcome by OHP than without OHP.
