Gas Values in the CSF during Cerebral Aneurysm Surgery with Hyperventilation

Choi, Kyu Taek; Bae, Jung In; Cheun, Jae Kyu

Abstract

The use of hyperventilation technique to reduce intracranial pressure for surgical intervention of cerebral aneurysm has been well documented and most common in general practice. The decrease of blood flow with hyperventilation may aggravate pre-existing ischemic region. On this occasion it was suggested that cerebral intracellular metabolic acidosis may be accentuated so that its metabolic status could be measured from the analysis of cerebrospinal fluid gases. Hyperventilation can cause an increase in PH of cerebrospinal fluid due to the decrease of PCO but if hyperventilation is induced chronically, an elevated PH returns gradually to its previous normal value by loss of HCO, from the cerebrospinal fluid. Anesthesia was maintained with hyperventilation throughout the cerebral aneurysm surgery then cerebrospinal fluid and arterial blood gases were measured at regular intervals. PH in cerebrospinal fluid at 1 hour after hyperventilation revealed severe metabolic acidosis and arterial blood gases showed respiratory alkalosis. At 6 hours after hyperventilation the PH in cerebrospinal fluid in-creased markedly but the changes of HCO2were not significant from its control value and accord-ingly metabolic acidosis in cerebrospinal fluid was improved. It was suggested that compensatory mechanism for PH of cerebrospinal fluid to return to its low value by decreasing HCO2was shown. If such mechaniwm does not exist cerebrospinal fluid HCO2must he increased theoretically.