Background: Spontaneous supratentorial intracerebral haemorrhages (SSIH) carry high morbidity and mortality rates. At present, the proper role of surgery is not clear and data from the International STICH trial have not clarified this challenging question. On the other hand, few prospective studies have measured long term survival regardless of the treatment and clinical condition of the patient.
Patients and methods: We prospectively collected data from all SSIH patients (n = 356) admitted at a tertiary reference hospital over a 40-month time period regardless of their clinical condition and treatment received. Among data investigated were preclinical neurological state, GCS on admission, history of systemic hypertension and treatment (surgical or conservative). Clinical factors influencing mortality at 1-year follow-up were analysed statistically by univariable and multivariable methods.
Findings: We found that patients in the eighth decade were the most frequent. Hypertension was present in 47% of patients. Based on the prehospitalisation modified Rankin Scale, 305 (86%) patients were independent for activities of daily living (ADL). At 12-months follow-up, 91 (46% of alive patients) remained independent for ADL. The surgical rate was 22%. Although it was not a randomised study, we did not find a significantly different mortality rate according to whether the patient was treated surgically or conservatively. Overall, the mortality rate was 44% (157 patients) with a 79% of deaths taking place in the first 30 days after admission.
Conclusions: This study underscores the high mortality rate of SSIH, especially so in the first month after admission. Among the subgroup of patients clinically independent before the haemorrhagic stroke, only 29.8% remained independent one year after the event. We did not find any statistically significant difference in mortality according to treatment modality received (surgical vs conservative) although treatment assignment was not randomised. Among other clinical factors, pre-ictal functional status, age, level of consciousness on admission and volume of haemorrhage strongly influence mortality as determined at the 1-year follow-up.