Predictors of early mortality in young adults after intracerebral hemorrhage.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patient and radiological characteristics of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), surgical treatment, and outcome after ICH are interrelated. Our purpose was to define whether these characteristics or surgical treatment correlate with mortality among young adults. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed clinical and imaging data of all first-ever nontraumatic patients with ICH between 16 and 49 years of age treated in our hospital between January 2000 and March 2010 and linked these data with national causes of death registry. A logistic regression analysis of factors associated with 3-month mortality and a propensity score comparison between patients treated conservatively and operatively was performed. RESULTS: Among the 325 eligible patients (59.4% men), factors associated with 3-month mortality included higher National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, infratentorial location, hydrocephalus, herniation, and multiple hemorrhages. Adjusted for these factors, as well as demographics, ICH volume, and the underlying cause, surgical evacuation was associated with lower 3-month mortality (odds ratio, 0.06; 95% confidence interval, 0.02-0.21). In propensity score-matched analysis, 3-month case fatality rates were 3-fold in those treated conservatively (27.5% versus 7.8%; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The predictors of short-term case fatality are alike in young and elderly patients with ICH. However, initial hematoma evacuation was associated with lower 3-month case fatality in our young patients with ICH.

MRI Characterization of Non-traumatic Intracerebral Hemorrhage in Young Adults.

Background and Purpose: Non-traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in younger population is a relatively rare event but is associated with considerable mortality and poor functional outcome. Imaging plays a crucial role in determining the underlying cause and guide treatment of ICH. In up to 41% of patients in prior studies, the underlying cause remained elusive. However, the usage of MRI as part of diagnostic work-up was scanty. We aimed to analyze MRI findings of ICH in younger patients and assess specificity and sensitivity of MRI in detecting structural or local underlying causes of ICH. Methods: We included patients aged 15-49 years with first-ever ICH identified from a prospective hospital discharge registry, 2000-2010. All study patients underwent MRI within 3 months of ICH. Imaging data was analyzed by a senior neuroradiologist blinded to final clinical diagnosis. We calculated the diagnostic accuracy of MRI in detecting structural/local underlying causes. Results: Of our 116 patients (median age, 39; 67% males), structural/local causes were the leading causes of ICH (50.0%), and of these, bleeding cavernomas (23.3%) were the most frequent followed by arteriovenous malformations (12.9%), cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) (7.8%), brain tumors (5.2%), and moyamoya disease (0.9%). Lobar location of ICH was more prevalent in younger patients. MRI was highly sensitive (90.0%; 95% confidence interval, 79.5-96.2%) for detection of structural/local causes compared with angiographic imaging (55.6%; 95% CI, 40.0-70.4%), while MRI was less specific (87.3%; 95% CI, 75.5-94.7%) for structural/local causes, compared with angiographic imaging (97.4%; 95% CI, 86.5-99.9%). Conclusion: MRI was highly sensitive for the detection of structural and local causes underlying ICH in young adults. Thus, MRI should be considered in the diagnostic work-up of all young ICH patients to enable targeted secondary prevention.

Medical acute complications of intracerebral hemorrhage in young adults.

Background. Frequency and impact of medical complications on short-term mortality in young patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) have gone unstudied. Methods. We reviewed data of all first-ever nontraumatic ICH patients between 16 and 49 years of age treated in our hospital between January 2000 and March 2010 to identify medical complications suffered. Logistic regression adjusted for known ICH prognosticators was used to identify medical complications associated with mortality. Results. Among the 325 eligible patients (59% males, median age 42 [interquartile range 34-47] years), infections were discovered in 90 (28%), venous thrombotic events in 13 (4%), cardiac complications in 4 (1%), renal failure in 59 (18%), hypoglycemia in 15 (5%), hyperglycemia in 165 (51%), hyponatremia in 146 (45%), hypernatremia in 91 (28%), hypopotassemia in 104 (32%), and hyperpotassemia in 27 (8%). Adjusted for known ICH prognosticators and diabetes, the only independent complication associated with 3-month mortality was hyperglycemia (plasma glucose >8.0 mmol/L) (odds ratio: 5.90, 95% confidence interval: 2.25-15.48, P < 0.001). Three or more separate complications suffered also associated with increased mortality (7.76, 1.42-42.49, P = 0.018). Conclusions. Hyperglycemia is a frequent complication of ICH in young adults and is independently associated with increased mortality. However, multiple separate complications increase mortality even further.