The prognosis of intraventricular hemorrhage.

A series of 40 patients with blood in the cerebral ventricular system demonstrated by computed tomography (CT) is presented. Overall prognosis was found to be better than expected from the literature. Nearly half of the patients are still alive; 12 of the 40 patients in this study had no significant residual disability. The results suggest that the rupture into the ventricular system by itself is of minor importance. However the clinical condition of the patient on admission, site and origin of the ruptured intracerebral hematoma and possibly the age of the patient seem to play an important role in predicting the outcome.