Polyuria and cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND: Natriuresis with polyuria is common after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). Previous studies have shown an increased risk of symptomatic cerebral vasospasm or delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) in patients with hyponatremia and/or the cerebral salt wasting syndrome (CSW). However, natriuresis may occur in the absence of hyponatremia or hypovolemia and it is not known whether the increase in DCI in patients with CSW is secondary to a concomitant hypovolemia or because the physiology that predisposes to natriuretic peptide release also predisposes to cerebral vasospasm. Therefore, we investigated whether polyuria per se was associated with vasospasm and whether a temporal relationship existed.

METHODS: A retrospective review of patients with aSAH was performed. Exclusion criteria were admission more than 48 h after aneurysmal rupture, death within 5 days, and the development of diabetes insipidus or acute renal failure. Polyuria was defined as > 6 liters of urine in a 24 h period. Vasospasm was defined as a mean velocity > 120 m/s on Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography (TCDs) or by evidence of vasospasm on computerized tomography (CT) or catheter angiography. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to assess the relationship between polyuria and vasospasm.

RESULTS: 95 patients were included in the study. 51 had cerebral vasospasm and 63 met the definition of polyuria. Patients with polyuria were significantly more likely to have vasospasm (OR 4.301, 95% CI 1.378-13.419) in multivariate analysis. Polyuria was more common in younger patients (52 vs 68, p <.001) but did not impact mortality after controlling for age and disease severity. The timing of the development of polyuria was clustered around the diagnosis of vasospasm and patients with polyuria developed vasospasm faster than those without polyuria.

CONCLUSIONS: Polyuria is common after aSAH and is significantly associated with cerebral vasospasm. The development of polyuria may be temporally related to the development of vasospasm. An increase in urine volume may be a useful clinical predictor of patients at risk for vasospasm.