Lobar intracerebral hematomas: clinical and CT analysis of 22 cases

Twenty-two cases of lobar hematomas occurred among 93 consecutive patients presenting with intracerebral hemorrhage. Arterial hypertension was the leading cause. Most hematomas were found in the parietotemporal region. Common physical findings were hemiparesis, hemisensory syndrome, and visual field defects. Seizures occurred in 23% of the patients, and coma was infrequent at onset. Mortality rate was 32%. Hematoma size on CT correlated with outcome: Patients with small hematomas did well on medical treatment, and those with medium size and large hematomas had mortalities of 14 and 60%, respectively. One-half of the survivors in the latter groups were treated surgically. It is proposed that large and medium size hematomas might benefit from surgical treatment, especially when the level of consciousness progressively deteriorates or CT scan shows prominent midline shift.