Background Cerebral blood flow (CBF) is impaired in the early phase after return of spontaneous circulation. Sodium nitroprusside (SNP) administration via intracranial subdural catheters improves cerebral cortical microcirculation. We determined whether the SNP treatment improves CBF in the subcortical tissue and evaluated the effects of this treatment on cerebral lactate. Methods and Results Sixty minutes after return of spontaneous circulation following 14 minutes of untreated cardiac arrest, 14 minipigs randomly received 4 mg SNP or saline via intracranial subdural catheters. CBF was measured in regions of interest within the cerebrum and thalamus using dynamic susceptibility contrast-magnetic resonance imaging. After return of spontaneous circulation, CBF was expressed as a percentage of the baseline value. In the saline group, the %CBF in the regions of interest within the cerebrum remained at approximately 50% until 3.5 hours after return of spontaneous circulation, whereas %CBF in the thalamic regions of interest recovered to approximately 73% at this time point. The percentages of the baseline values in the cortical gray matter and subcortical white matter were higher in the SNP group (group effect P=0.026 and 0.025, respectively) but not in the thalamus. The cerebral lactate/creatine ratio measured using magnetic resonance spectroscopy increased over time in the saline group but not in the SNP group (group-time interaction P=0.035). The thalamic lactate/creatine ratio was similar in the 2 groups. Conclusions SNP administered via intracranial subdural catheters improved CBF not only in the cortical gray matter but also in the subcortical white matter. The CBF improvement by SNP was accompanied by a decrease in cerebral lactate.
Keywords: brain ischemia; cardiac arrest; magnetic resonance imaging; nitroprusside.