Treatment
Management involves general measures to stabilize the patient while also using specific investigations and treatments. These include the prevention of rebleeding by obliterating the bleeding source, prevention of a phenomenon known as vasospasm, and prevention and treatment of complications.
Stabilizing the patient is the first priority. Those with a depressed level of consciousness may need to be intubated and mechanically ventilated. Blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate and Glasgow Coma Scale are monitored frequently. Once the diagnosis is confirmed, admission to an intensive care unit may be preferable, especially since 15% may have further bleeding soon after admission. Nutrition is an early priority, with oral or nasogastric tube feeding being preferable over parenteral routes. Analgesia (pain control) is generally restricted to less sedating agents such as codeine, as sedation may impact on the mental status and thus interfere with the ability to monitor the level of consciousness. Deep vein thrombosis is prevented with compression stockings, intermittent pneumatic compression of the calves or both. A bladder catheter is usually inserted to monitor fluid balance. Benzodiazepines may be administered to help relieve distress. Antiemetic drugs should be given to awake persons.
Read more about this topic: Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Famous quotes containing the word treatment:
“Judge Ginsburg’s selection should be a model—chosen on merit and not ideology, despite some naysaying, with little advance publicity. Her treatment could begin to overturn a terrible precedent: that is, that the most terrifying sentence among the accomplished in America has become, “Honey—the White House is on the phone.””
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“I am glad you agree with me as to the treatment of the mining riots. We shall crush out the lawbreakers if the courts and juries do not fail.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“[17th-century] Puritans were the first modern parents. Like many of us, they looked on their treatment of children as a test of their own self-control. Their goal was not to simply to ensure the child’s duty to the family, but to help him or her make personal, individual commitments. They were the first authors to state that children must obey God rather than parents, in case of a clear conflict.”
—C. John Sommerville (20th century)