This study investigated the impact of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) on the cumulative mortality of patients with hyperacute ischemic stroke. This population-based retrospective cohort study used claims data from the National Health Insurance Service customized database of South Korea. The recruitment period was 2005−2018. The study population included patients with hyperacute ischemic stroke who had received intravenous thrombolysis. The primary endpoint was 12-month cumulative mortality, which was analyzed in both the ICH and no-ICH groups. Of the 50,550 patients included, 2567 (5.1%) and 47,983 (94.9%) belonged to the ICH and no-ICH groups, respectively. In the univariable analysis for 12-month mortality, ICH patients were substantially more prevalent among dead patients than among patients who survived (11.6% versus 3.6%; p < 0.001). The overall 12-month cumulative mortality rate was 18.8%. Mortality in the ICH group was higher than that in the no-ICH group (42.8% versus 17.5%; p < 0.001). In the multivariable analysis, the risk of 12-month cumulative mortality was 2.97 times higher in the ICH group than in the no-ICH group (95% confidence interval, 2.79−3.16). The risk of 12-month cumulative mortality in hyperacute ischemic stroke can increase approximately threefold after the occurrence of spontaneous ICH following intravenous thrombolysis.
Keywords: cerebral hemorrhage; cohort studies; ischemic stroke; mortality; thrombolytic therapy.