Epidemiology of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage in the state of Qatar

Spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is one of the significant etiologies for stroke. SAH causes higher morbidity and mortality with loss of productivity, resulting in increased disease burden. Only few studies in Qatar have reported on SAH, and the epidemiological features of SAH and aneurysmal SAH (aSAH) have not been comprehensively studied before in Qatar. Our study aimed to describe the epidemiological profile of patients with SAH and aSAH in the State of Qatar.

We reviewed the medical records of all patients with SAH and/or ruptured aneurysm who were consecutively admitted to Hamad General Hospital (600-bed tertiary care facility) from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2016. We performed a quantitative analysis of demographics, clinical characteristics, diagnostic findings, interventions, and overall mortality. We used SPSS version 18 for data entry. We used chi-square and student t tests to compare the groups. We considered p < 0.05 as statistically significant.

The study included 323 patients with aneurysmal and non-aneurysmal SAH. The mean age at presentation was 47.4 ± 12.2 years. Men comprised 68.7% of the cases. Further, 86.6% of the patients presented with acute-onset headache. Additionally, 217 patients had 1 aneurysm, and 32 patients had multiple aneurysms. Anterior communicating artery aneurysm has been found to be the most common aneurysm. Non-aneurysmal SAH occurred in 74 patients (22.9%), with male predominance. Moreover, 23.7% and 52.6% of the patients underwent microsurgical clipping and coiling of the aneurysm, respectively. The overall mortality in World Federation of Neurosurgeon Score (WFNS) grades 1 and 2 SAH was lesser than that in higher grades (28.6% vs 71.4%). Of 323 patients, 69 died within 1 month post-ictus, accounting for an overall mortality rate of 21.2% in our study.

The annual incidence of aneurysmal SAH in Qatar has been increasing. Men had a higher incidence of aSAH. Internal carotid aneurysms have been found to be more common in Qatari women, which may have a genetic basis. Lower WFNS grades of aSAH have been associated with better prognosis. The overall mortality associated with aSAH in Qatar has declined over the last 3 years.