Bleeding patterns from ruptured intracranial aneurysms: an autopsy series of 205 patients.

The autopsy records from 205 patients who died from ruptured intracranial aneurysms were reviewed. Special emphasis was placed on the cause of death and the time after rupture that death occurred. One hundred and sixty-eight patients (82%) died within one week of their last aneurysmal rupture. Eighty-eight died within one week of their initial rupture. Massive subarachnoid hemorrhage was the cause of death in 53% and localized hematomas in 14%. Eighty patients died within one week following a subsequent rupture. Intracranial hematoma was the cause of death in 87%, with 31% harboring a localized mass potentially amenable to surgical therapy.