Psychologic adjustment in patients after subarachnoid hemorrhage

A series of 45 patients after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) with no or only marginal neurologic impairment and 36 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were examined with the German Freiburger Personality Inventory-Revised. Both groups showed a comparable frequency of psychologic impairments, except that the patients with COPD had significantly higher scores in the FPI-R bodily complaints and bodily concern subscales (p < 0.05). In the patients after SAH, loss of motivation (42%), abnormal introversion (40%), increased emotional lability (38%), and strain (31%) were found predominantly. The patients after SAH of unknown origin exhibited psychologic disturbances comparable with patients after aneurysmal SAH. A ruptured aneurysm of the anterior communicating artery did not lead to more psychologic disorders than aneurysms at other locations. Right frontal and right parietal infarctions were associated with significantly less emotional sensitivity (p = 0.013) and bodily concern (p < 0.001). The results demonstrate a substantial discrepancy between the prevalence of psychologic maladjustment and the moderate degree of functional impairment in patients after SAH, which remains to be explained by future research.