Near infrared spectroscopy for the detection of desaturations in vulnerable ischemic brain tissue: a pilot study at the stroke unit bedside.

Background And Purpose: There is uncertainty whether bilateral near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) can be used for monitoring of patients with acute stroke.

Methods: The NIRS responsiveness to systemic and stroke-related changes was studied overnight by assessing the effects of brief peripheral arterial oxygenation and mean arterial pressure alterations in the affected versus nonaffected hemisphere in 9 patients with acute stroke.

Results: Significantly more NIRS drops were registered in the affected compared with the nonaffected hemisphere (477 drops versus 184, P<0.001). In the affected hemispheres, nearly all peripheral arterial oxygenation drops (n=128; 96%) were detected by NIRS; in the nonaffected hemispheres only 23% (n=30; P=0.17). Only a few mean arterial pressure drops were followed by a significant NIRS drop. This was however significantly different between both hemispheres (32% versus 13%, P=0.01).

Conclusions: This pilot study found good responsiveness of NIRS signal to systemic and stroke-related changes at the bedside but requires confirmation in a larger sample.