Understanding the Pearls and Pitfalls of Nimodipine in Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Opportunities to Improve Patient Outcomes

Program Description

Hemorrhagic stroke, particularly aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), represents a challenge in neurocritical care, with mortality rates often exceeding 30%. Patients experiencing aSAH frequently have severe, long-term disability due to complications of cerebral vasospasm or delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI). The standard of care intervention to improve neurological outcomes after aSAH is treatment with nimodipine. While nimodipine remains a cornerstone of aSAH management, current oral formulations present important challenges in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. Frequent dosing intervals, interruptions due to procedures, and difficulties with enteral administration can increase nursing workload and contribute to medication administration errors, resulting in inconsistent drug exposure and safety risks. Critical care pharmacists are uniquely positioned to address these challenges by leading efforts to optimize dosing strategies, streamline administration workflows, and implement medication safety protocols. This webinar provides essential information to mitigate medication errors, reduce nursing burden, and support the safe integration of novel nimodipine formulations designed to ensure more consistent delivery and therapeutic exposure. The pharmacist’s role in standardizing nimodipine protocols, enhancing medication safety, and ensuring timely interventions to prevent adverse neurological outcomes will also be explored.

Target audience: Health System Pharmacist
Type of activity: Application
Release date: March 13, 2026
Expiration date: March 13, 2027
Learner level: Foundational, Intermediate
Time to complete activity: 1.0 hour
Fee: Free

Educational Objectives

At the completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Identify key pathophysiologic processes following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), with a focus on cerebral vasospasm and delayed cerebral ischemia
• Express the limitations of the traditional enteral nimodipine formulations and how the new formulations may address these challenges
• Employ evidence-based monitoring strategies to assess nimodipine efficacy and identify potential complications in critically ill patients with aSAH