Effect of intravenous ketanserin on arterial and intracranial pressures in patients with systemic hypertension following intracerebral haemorrhage.

The response of arterial BP and intracranial pressure to an intravenous injection of the serotonin antagonist, ketanserin, was recorded in ten patients with hypertension following intracerebral haemorrhage. Five minutes after ketanserin administration, arterial pressure had fallen by 40/21 mmHg from a baseline level of 213/113 mmHg, and remained below pre-treatment levels for two hours. Intracranial pressure was steady throughout the two hour observation period. Although calculated cerebral perfusion pressures declined and whereas it is not known if cerebral perfusion might have been compromised in zones of borderline ischaemia, the present data suggest that ketanserin might be preferred to drugs known to raise intracranial pressure or agents requiring infusion and intensive haemodynamic monitoring for patients with severe hypertension complicating intracerebral haemorrhage.