Transportation Management Affecting Outcomes of Patients With Spontaneous Intracranial Hemorrhage

Patients with spontaneous intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) have poor outcomes, in part because of blood pressure variability (BPV). Patients with sICH causing elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) are frequently transferred to tertiary centers for neurosurgical interventions. We hypothesized that BPV and care intensity during transport would correlate with outcomes in patients with sICH and elevated ICP.

We analyzed charts from adult sICH patients who were transferred from emergency departments to a quaternary academic center from January 1, 2011, to September 30, 2015, and received external ventricular drainage. Outcomes were in-hospital mortality and the Glasgow Coma Scale on day 5 (HD5GCS). Multivariable and ordinal logistic regressions were used for associations between clinical factors and outcomes.

We analyzed 154 patients, 103 (67%) had subarachnoid hemorrhage and 51 (33%) intraparenchymal hemorrhage; 38 (25%) died. BPV components were similar between survivors and nonsurvivors and not associated with mortality. Each additional intervention during transport was associated with a 5-fold increase in likelihood to achieve a higher HD5GCS (odds ratio = 5.4; 95% confidence interval, 1.7-16; P = .004).

BPV during transport was not associated with mortality. However, high standard deviation in systolic blood pressure during transport was associated with lower HD5GCS in patients with intraparenchymal hemorrhage. Further studies are needed to confirm our observations.