Statistics Trial size: In a similar study, sodium nitroprusside-induced reduction in MAP by 43% decreased CBF by 15% after correction for the decrease in PaCO2. A power calculation indicates that at least 14 subjects are required to detect a 15% reduction in CBF with a standard deviation of 18% when MAP is reduced by 40% by sodium nitroprusside with a 5% significance level and a power of 80%.