Psychiatric sequelae of subarachnoid haemorrhage

Twenty cases with psychiatric disorder occurring after subarachnoid haemorrhage were studied. Seventy per cent had a research diagnostic criteria diagnosis of major depressive disorder, most of whom also had signs of persisting organic brain damage. Ten per cent of the cases committed suicide, and only 10% had made a full recovery from the psychiatric disorder. There was no significant association between the laterality of damage and the subsequent development of major depressive disorder, however, middle cerebral artery haemorrhage was over-represented in the sample.