Cerebrovascular Carbon Dioxide Reactivity in Carotid Artery Disease

Abstract

Comment Preoperative loss of cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity in 12 of 94 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy did not predict risk for intraoperative cerebral ischemia after carotid cross-clamping. In addition, none of the four patients in this study who developed new neurologic deficits postoperatively had impaired cerebrovascular reactivity preoperatively, although all four experienced intraoperative critical somatosensory-evoked potentials and/or transcranial Doppler sonography findings. By postoperative day 4, all 12 patients with impaired preoperative CO2 reactivity had normal cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity.