Prognosis in intracerebral haemorrhage.

A retrospective study of 244 cases of ICH of mixed aetiology was made in respect of clinical course, outcome, and CT findings. Those factors found to be of prognostic significance were: Glasgow coma score on admission, clot volume, degree of midline shift, degree of intraventricular blood, and deterioration in the first postictal 48 hours. Those who required surgical evacuation after 48 hours of onset had a low mortality of 3% compared to 34% in those requiring earlier operation and 27% in the series as a whole. Small haematomas still carried an appreciable mortality and did not bias outcome in the various aetiological groups, although hypertension on admission appeared to be a helpful diagnostic pointer.