Andersen — Have We Actually Improved SAH Outcomes in 15 Years?

Chris Andersen has spent a career treating subarachnoid haemorrhage, and he opens this episode by admitting we might have wasted a fortune treating vasospasm without evidence to show for it. Host Oli Flower and Chris Andersen, co-conveners of ISAH 2026, dig into why SAH care hasn't seen the revolution ischaemic stroke has, why delayed cerebral ischaemia (DCI) is the field's great unsolved problem, and why fewer than 10% of SAH trials have ever asked patients what actually matters to them. Chris Andersen is a neurocritical care specialist and co-convener of ISAH 2026, the International Conference on Subarachnoid Haemorrhage, running 17–20 November in Sydney. In this episode: 02:56 — If you could solve one problem in SAH in the next decade, what would it be? 03:52 — Have outcomes actually improved in the last 15 years? 05:52 — The treatment we've poured money into without proof it works 08:53 — Is DCI the ARDS of subarachnoid haemorrhage? 10:30 — Precision medicine: substance or buzzword? 13:32 — What AI can realistically do for SAH care in the next 5 years 16:56 — The best debates coming to ISAH 2026 19:12 — Lumbar drains and the EARLYDRAIN trial, three years on 22:23 — Platform trials: the future, or an expensive way to spend grant money? 26:23 — What clinicians get wrong about recovery — and what patients actually want measured 32:11 — The tech that sounds like science fiction but might be routine in 10 years 35:40 — Why SAH needs a global alliance, not another society 39:26 — Lightning round: most overrated treatment, biggest unanswered question, and a prediction Chris might regret ISAH 2026 runs 17–20 November in Sydney. View the program and register at subarachnoid.org