Shunt Dependence after Intraventricular Hemorrhage and Intraventricular Fibrinolysis with uPA versus rt-PA.

BACKGROUND: We compare the effect of urokinase (urokinase-type plasminogen activator [uPA]) versus alteplase (recombinant tissue plasminogen activator [rt-PA]) for intraventricular fibrinolysis (IVF) in patients with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) on ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) dependence, functional outcome, and complications in the management of IVH. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the patients admitted with IVH or intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) with IVH within 7 years in three different departments and found 102 patients who met the inclusion criteria. The primary end points were VPS dependence and Glasgow outcome score (GOS) at 3 months. Secondary end points were rate of rebleeding under IVF and incidence of treatment-related complications. Patients were divided into three groups: group I comprised patients treated with external ventricular drain (EVD) and IVF with uPA; group II comprised patients treated with EVD and IVF with rt-PA; and group III comprised patients treated with EVD alone. RESULTS: In all, 9.8% patients needed VPS: 12.2% in group I and 15.0% in group II, with no statistically significant difference. VPS patients had higher values of the modified Graeb score (mGS), IVH score, and IVH volume. We saw a trend for a better outcome in group II, with six patients achieving a GOS of 4 or 5 after 3 months. The mortality rate was higher in groups I and III. We found no statistical difference in the complication rate between groups I and II. Logistic regression analysis revealed that higher mGS and age predicted worse prognosis concerning mortality. The risk for death rose by 7.8% for each year of age. Any additional mGS point increased the chances of death by 9.7%. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that both uPA and rt-PA are safe and comparable regarding incidence of communicating hydrocephalus, and age and mGS are predictive for mortality.

Erratum: Histological criteria for atypical pituitary adenomas--data from the German pituitary adenoma registry suggests modifications.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained a mistake in the author list. The name of one co-author is written wrong in the final version of the article; Dr Hans Ulrich Knappe should be Ulrich Johannes Knappe. The updated author list is provided below: Christian P. Miermeister, Stephan Petersenn, Michael Buchfelder, Rudolf Fahlbusch, Dieter K.Lüdecke, Annett Hölsken, Markus Bergmann, Ulrich Johannes Knappe, Volkmar H. Hans, Jörg Flitsch, Wolfgang Saeger and Rolf Buslei.