Hematoma growth is a determinant of mortality and poor outcome after intracerebral hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND

Although volume of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a predictor of mortality, it is unknown whether subsequent hematoma growth further increases the risk of death or poor functional outcome.

METHODS

To determine if hematoma growth independently predicts poor outcome, the authors performed an individual meta-analysis of patients with spontaneous ICH who had CT within 3 hours of onset and 24-hour follow-up. Placebo patients were pooled from three trials investigating dosing, safety, and efficacy of rFVIIa (n = 115), and 103 patients from the Cincinnati study (total 218). Other baseline factors included age, gender, blood glucose, blood pressure, Glasgow Coma Score (GCS), intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), and location.

RESULTS

Overall, 72.9% of patients exhibited some degree of hematoma growth. Percentage hematoma growth (hazard ratio [HR] 1.05 per 10% increase [95% CI: 1.03, 1.08; p < 0.0001]), initial ICH volume (HR 1.01 per mL [95% CI: 1.00, 1.02; p = 0.003]), GCS (HR 0.88 [95% CI: 0.81, 0.96; p = 0.003]), and IVH (HR 2.23 [95% CI: 1.25, 3.98; p = 0.007]) were all associated with increased mortality. Percentage growth (cumulative OR 0.84 [95% CI: 0.75, 0.92; p < 0.0001]), initial ICH volume (cumulative OR 0.94 [95% CI: 0.91, 0.97; p < 0.0001]), GCS (cumulative OR 1.46 [95% CI: 1.21, 1.82; p < 0.0001]), and age (cumulative OR 0.95 [95% CI: 0.92, 0.98; p = 0.0009]) predicted outcome modified Rankin Scale. Gender, location, blood glucose, and blood pressure did not predict outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Hematoma growth is an independent determinant of both mortality and functional outcome after intracerebral hemorrhage. Attenuation of growth is an important therapeutic strategy.