Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Patients with Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Introduction: Patients with an intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) have been shown to have a high incidence of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). We aimed to determine the incidence of ARDS following ICH in the era of lung-protective ventilation. We also examined risk factors associated with ARDS following ICH. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study of adults admitted to a single health system's intensive care units with acute, spontaneous ICH from 1 March 2015 to 28 February 2018, using univariate and multivariable logistic regression models to evaluate the associations of patient characteristics with the diagnosis of ARDS. Results: In total, 269 patients were included, with 155 patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation. The overall incidence of ARDS was 6.7% (18/269), and the incidence in intubated patients was 10% (16/155), as the median time of ventilation with >8 cc/mL of ideal body weight was low. For the entire ICH population, severity of hypoxemia on initial arterial blood gas (ABG; Odds Ratio [OR] per 10 mmHg 0.855 [95% Confidence Interval [CI] 0.74-0.987]) and total minutes of mechanical ventilation (OR per 60 min 1.018 [95% CI 1.007-1.029]) were both associated with the diagnosis of ARDS. In intubated patients, ventilation, younger age (OR per 10 years 0.655 [95% CI 0.431-0.997]), and total minutes of mechanical ventilation (OR per 60 min 1.028 [95% CI 1.006-1.049] increased the odds of developing ARDS. Conclusions: ARDS was found to be significantly lower in the present cohort of ICH patients when compared to prior studies, with younger age and hypoxemia associated with an increasing risk.