Aspirin does not affect hematoma growth in severe spontaneous intracranial hematoma

Abstract

Hematoma growth (HG) affects the prognosis of patients with spontaneous intracranial hematoma (ICH), but there is still a lack of evidence about the effects of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid, ASA) on HG in patients with severe ICH. This study retrospectively analyzed patients with severe ICH who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria in Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, between January 1, 2015, and July 31, 2019. Severe ICH patients were divided into ASA group and nASA groups according to ASA usage, and the incidence of HG between the groups was compared. Univariate analysis was performed by the Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test, or Fisher exact test. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the impact of ASA on HG and to screen for risk factors of HG. In total, 221 patients with severe ICH were consecutively enrolled in this study. There were 72 (32.6%) patients in the ASA group and 149 patients in the nASA group. Although the incidence of HG in the nASA group was higher than that in the ASA group (34.9% VS 22.2%, p = 0.056), ASA did not significantly affect the occurrence of HG (p = 0.285) after adjusting for initial hematoma volume, high blood pressure at admission, coronary heart disease, and GCS at admission. In addition, we found that high blood pressure at admission was a risk factor for HG. Prior ASA does not increase the incidence of HG in severe ICH patients, and high blood pressure at admission is a risk factor for HG.

Keywords: Antiplatelet; Aspirin; Hematoma growth; Intracerebral hemorrhage; Stroke.