Background: Primary intracerebral haemorrhage (PICH) is associated with a poorer outcome than cerebral infarction. This study aimed to determine whether this is explained by the clinical severity of stroke.
Methods: An observational study of outcome in consecutive admissions with acute PICH and ischaemic stroke was undertaken. A nested case-control analysis, matched on a 1:2 basis for age, pre-stroke disability, early neurological impairment (Scandinavian Stroke Scale; SSS), and Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project classification was then performed. Follow up was at 30 days and at hospital discharge.
Results: Overall, 679 subjects were included in the analysis. Of these, 53 (8%) had PICH; this group had more severe initial neurological impairment (day 3 SSS 28 v 45 points, p<0.001) and a higher prevalence of total anterior circulation strokes (55% v 21%, p<0.001) than did the group admitted with ischaemic strokes. Outcomes were poorer in the PICH group, with 36% inpatient mortality and 68% of survivors having a day 30 modified Rankin Scale (MRS) of at least 3 (compared with 13% and 52%, respectively, in the ischaemic stroke group). Following matching for baseline clinical characteristics, the PICH group had a higher mortality, but this was not statistically significant; the day 30 MRS and institutionalisation rates in survivors were similar in the matched haemorrhage and infarct groups.
Conclusions: Compared with ischaemic stroke, PICH is associated with higher mortality and increased disability in survivors. The severity of clinical stroke is a major contributor to these poor outcomes; baseline characteristics, however, do not fully explain outcome differences.