Cognitive Changes in Patients with Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Before and Early Posttreatment: Differences Between Surgical and Endovascular

INTRODUCTION: The main purpose of occluding a ruptured aneurysm is preventing rebleeding, which may be fatal. Microsurgical or endovascular treatments are the main approaches adopted to prevent new bleeding. Among patients presenting with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, about 50% had permanent injuries. Cognitive changes are one of the main morbidities from that illness. The type of treatment for the aneurysm (clipping or coil embolization) can also contribute to the genesis of those complications. OBJECTIVE: Assessing language and verbal memory changes resulting from the aneurysmal lesion occlusion procedures, as well as establish which treatment offers less cognitive sequels. METHOD: This investigation was carried out in Hospital da Restauraao, Recife-PE, from May 2007 to November 2009. One hundred fifty-one patients were divided into two groups, surgical and endovascular, and had their language, fluency, and verbal memory functions tested at two time points, pre- and postoperation. The results of the initial assessment and of the one occurring after the treatment were compared, between both groups and to each other. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: One hundred fifty-one patients were assessed, distributed as 122 surgical and 29 coil embolized. The performances in both groups did not differ in the initial assessment. However, endovascular treatment does not show additional cognitive impairment and had a better performance in language and verbal memory, compared with patients submitted to surgical treatment in an early postoperative period.