M. DePinto, M.D., M.M. Treggiari, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H.
The scope of the current proposal is to establish feasibility of an intervention attempting to improve neurological outcome in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Intensive therapy with fluid and pressure augmentation is administrated to prevent and treat vasospasm in these patients. However, not only there are safety concerns associated with the use of triple H therapy, but its effectiveness has not been proven. Collection of preliminary data is important to demonstrate feasibility of a future larger randomized trial investigating the efficacy of the cervical sympathetic block and its role in the treatment strategy of patients with severe vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. The pilot will provide estimates of the parameters and their variability so that an accurate sample size calculation can be carried out and an appropriate endpoint can be selected and justified. A pilot study will also allow determining possible problems with the study design that can be addressed and resolved prior to the implementation of a larger trial. The Carl Koller bridging funding would represent a great opportunity to collect these preliminary data and strengthen our success to further pursue our research agenda aimed at improving outcomes in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage.