Little is known about the epidemiology of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) in Poland, and until now no such research has been conducted for Silesia, which is the second largest province with circa 4.5 million inhabitants. Therefore, the current study was done to assess the data on SAH in the Silesian Province, Poland. The study was based on the data obtained from the administrative databases of the only public health insurer in Poland (the National Health Fund, NHF) from 2009 to 2019. The SAH cases were selected based on primary diagnosis coded in ICD-10 as I60. The total number of SAH cases was 2014 (41.8% men, 58.2% women). The number of SAH hospitalizations decreased from 199 in 2009 to 166 cases in 2019; p < 0.05. The median age increased from 58 in 2009 to 62 years in 2019; p < 0.001. Endovascular treatment or clipping of the aneurysm was performed in 866 cases (43%). An increase in in-hospital mortality was observed from 31% in 2009 to 38% in 2019 (p = 0.013). Despite the number of stroke units increasing, in-hospital mortality in SAH patients is high, and the number of vascular interventions seems insufficient. Better organization for care of SAH patients is needed in Poland.
Keywords: epidemiology; incidence; mortality; subarachnoid haemorrhage.