Cerebrovascular Pressure Reactivity According to Long-Pressure Reactivity Index During Spreading Depolarizations in Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

BACKGROUND: Spreading depolarization (SD) has been linked to the impairment of neurovascular coupling. However, the association between SD occurrence and cerebrovascular pressure reactivity as a surrogate of cerebral autoregulation (CA) remains unclear. Therefore, we analyzed CA using the long-pressure reactivity index (L-PRx) during SDs in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). METHODS: A retrospective study of patients with aSAH who were recruited at two centers, Heidelberg (HD) and Berlin (BE), was performed. Continuous monitoring of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and intracranial pressure (ICP) was recorded. ICP was measured using an intraparenchymal probe in HD patients and was measure in BE patients through external ventricular drainage. Electrocorticographic (ECoG) activity was continuously recorded between 3 and 13 days after hemorrhage. Autoregulation according to L-PRx was calculated as a moving linear Pearson’s correlation of 20-min averages of MAP and ICP. For every identified SD, 60-min intervals of L-PRx were averaged, plotted, and analyzed depending on SD occurrence. Random L-PRx recording periods without SDs served as the control. RESULTS: A total of 19 patients (HD n = 14, BE n = 5, mean age 50.4 years, 9 female patients) were monitored for a mean duration of 230.4 h (range 96–360, STD ± 69.6 h), during which ECoG recordings revealed a total number of 277 SDs. Of these, 184 represented a single SD, and 93 SDs presented in clusters. In HD patients, mean L-PRx values were 0.12 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.11–0.13) during SDs and 0.07 (95% CI 0.06–0.08) during control periods (p < 0.001). Similarly, in BE patients, a higher L-PRx value of 0.11 (95% CI 0.11–0.12) was detected during SDs than that during control periods (0.08, 95% CI 0.07–0.09; p < 0.001). In a more detailed analysis, CA changes registered through an intraparenchymal probe (HD patients) revealed that clustered SD periods were characterized by signs of more severely impaired CA (L-PRx during SD in clusters: 0.23 [95% CI 0.20–0.25]; single SD: 0.09 [95% CI 0.08–0.10]; control periods: 0.07 [95% CI 0.06–0.08]; p < 0.001). This group also showed significant increases in ICP during SDs in clusters compared with single SD and control periods. CONCLUSIONS: Neuromonitoring for simultaneous assessment of cerebrovascular pressure reactivity using 20-min averages of MAP and ICP measured by L-PRx during SD events is feasible. SD occurrence was associated with significant increases in L-PRx values indicative of CA disturbances. An impaired CA was found during SD in clusters when using an intraparenchymal probe. This preliminary study validates the use of cerebrovascular reactivity indices to evaluate CA disturbances during SDs. Our results warrant further investigation in larger prospective patient cohorts. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12028-022-01669-y.