[Intraventricular hematomas associated with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhages: with special reference to third ventricular hematoma].

Intraventricular hematoma (IVH) is often associated with many kinds of intracranial hemorrhage; for example, hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and so on. In this paper we discuss the clinical significance of IVH in the third ventricle, as well as the effects of surgical treatment. Forty-five patients were treated in our hospital because of massive IVH associated with small or mode-rate-size (hematoma volume less than or equal to 15 ml) thalamic or caudate-head hemorrhage between April, 1983 and April, 1988. All cases had an intraventricular cast in at least one ventricle. The patients were divided into two subgroups (depending on the site of the dominant IVH): the third-fourth ventricle dominant type-IVH group, and the lateral ventricle dominant type-IVH group. The former was further divided into two subgroups based on the thickness of the IVH in the third ventricle (its thickness being greater than or equal to 1 cm and less than 1 cm), and the area of IVH in the fourth ventricle (its area being greater than or equal to 1 cm2 and less than 1 cm2) as determined by CT scan monitoring. All cases were also divided according to continuous ventricular drainage (CVD), position of the catheter tip (in either the third ventricle or the lateral ventricle), and the intraventricular administration of urokinase (UK). For each group we checked the consciousness grade using the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) on day 0 and on day 7, as well as the interval between day 0 and the day on which the IVH in the third ventricle disappeared on the CT scan.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)