Intracranial hemorrhage recurrence on vitamin K antagonist: severity of the first episode and HASBLED score fail to identify high-risk patients from the CHIRONE study

Blood Coagul Fibrinolysis. 2017 Jan;28(1):62-65. doi: 10.1097/MBC.0000000000000540.

Abstract

The most feared complication of vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) treatment is intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). The previously published CHIRONE Study fails to identify risk factors associated with ICH recurrence after VKAs resumption. The aim of this secondary analysis of the study is to evaluate if patients who need surgery or with severe neurological sequelae after the first episode show a higher risk of ICH recurrence. The HASBLED score was used to stratify bleeding risk and to evaluate the distribution of recurrence in relation to each class of risk. The study included 267 patients from 27 Italian centers. The treatment of the index ICH, surgical or medical was recorded; modified Rankin Scale score of 3 or more was used to define patients with severe neurological impairment; HASBLED score of 3 or more was used to identify high bleeding risk patients. During follow-up, 20 patients (7.5%) had ICH recurrence (rate of 2.56 × 100 patient-years). No difference in the type of treatment [hazard ratio = 1.5; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.49-4.74] and neurological impairment with modified Rankin Scale 3 or more (hazard ratio = 0.9; 95% CI: 0.31-2.83) were found in relation to ICH recurrence. The mean HASBLED score was similar between the two groups (P = 0.54). In conclusion, the results of our study suggest that neither the severity of the index ICH at presentation nor the HASBLED clinical prediction rule should be used to assess the risk of recurrence in patients who need VKAs resumption after a previous ICH.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Anticoagulants / therapeutic use*
  • Child
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Intracranial Hemorrhages / chemically induced*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Recurrence
  • Risk Factors
  • Treatment Outcome
  • Vitamin K / antagonists & inhibitors*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Anticoagulants
  • Vitamin K