Acute lung injury in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage: a nationwide inpatient sample study

To determine national trends for patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and pulmonary complications including acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).

The Nationwide Inpatient Sample database was used to sample 193,209 admissions for SAH with and without ARDS during the period 1993-2008 using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification coding. A multivariate stepwise regression analysis was performed.

The incidence of ARDS in patients with SAH increased from 35.51% in 1993 to 37.60% in 2008. However, the overall mortality in patients with SAH and in patients with SAH and ARDS decreased in the same period, from 42.30% to 31.99% and from 75.13% to 60.76%, respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that the predictors of developing ARDS in patients with SAH include older age; larger hospital size; and comorbidities such as epilepsy, cardiac arrest, sepsis, congestive heart failure, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hematologic dysfunction, renal dysfunction, and neurologic dysfunction. Predictors of mortality in patients with SAH include age and hospital complications, such as coronary artery disease, ARDS, cancer, hematologic dysfunction, and renal dysfunction.

Patients with SAH are at increased risk of developing ARDS. The identification of certain risk factors may alert and aid practitioners in preventing worsening disease.