Predictors of early mortality in young adults after intracerebral hemorrhage

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.

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.

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).

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.