Reduced Intracerebral Hemorrhage and Perihematomal Edema Volumes in Diabetics on Sulfonylureas

Background and Purpose- Sulfonylurea medications have been linked to reduced brain edema and improved outcome following ischemic stroke, but their effects on primary intracerebral hemorrhage (pICH) have not been thoroughly explored. Increasing ICH volume and perihematomal edema (PHE) volume are predictors of poor outcome in pICH. We investigated whether preexisting sulfonylurea use influenced ICH volume, PHE volume, and discharge disposition in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus presenting with pICH. Methods- We performed a retrospective chart review of all diabetic patients presenting with pICH to 2 tertiary academic centers from 2006 to 2016. All patients with diabetes mellitus, pICH, admission computed tomography scan, and sulfonylurea use on admission were included in our study. For each case, 2-matched controls (admission date, age, hematoma location [deep versus lobar], use of antiplatelet, or anticoagulant) with diabetes mellitus and pICH were consecutively selected. ICH and PHE volumes were measured via region of interest analysis on admission computed tomography. To mitigate the influence of ICH volume on PHE, the PHE/ICH surface area ratio was calculated. Hospital discharge disposition was determined via chart abstraction. We used the Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Fisher exact test to compare cases and controls. Results- Of 317 patients screened, 21 sulfonylurea cases and 42-matched controls met criteria for study inclusion. Sulfonylurea cases had significantly lower admission ICH volumes (median, 4 mL; interquartile range [IQR], 2-30 versus median, 25 mL; IQR, 6-60; P=0.011), PHE volumes (median, 4 mL; IQR, 0.9-24 versus median, 17; IQR, 6-37; P=0.0095), and PHE/ICH surface area ratios (median, 0.28; IQR, 0.1-0.4 versus median, 0.43; IQR, 0.3-0.6; P=0.013) as compared with controls. Sulfonylureas were associated with improved discharge disposition ( P=0.0062). Conclusions- In patients with diabetes mellitus and pICH, sulfonylurea use predicted lower ICH and PHE volumes, lower relative PHE, and improved discharge disposition. Given the paucity of treatment options for pICH, further study of sulfonylureas is warranted.