Background: Surgeries for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remain controversial. Our previous study found that postoperative cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) outflow was associated with high hematoma evacuation efficiency in ICH cases with intraventricular involvement (ICHV) treated with minimally invasive craniopuncture (MIC). This study was designed to identify factors that predict postoperative CSF outflow and the specific subtype of ICHV that may benefit from MIC.
Methods: A total of 189 MIC needles applied to 125 ICHV patients were retrospectively analyzed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify independent predictive factors of postoperative CSF outflow.
Results: A density of the whole hematoma of ≤ 59 HU [odds ratio (OR) = 8.572, 95% confidence interval (CI) 3.235-22.714, P < 0.001, standardization regression coefficients B' = 0.576] and a distance between the needle tip and the ventricular tear (tip-tear distance) of 21.79-34.15 mm (OR = 25.566, 95% CI 8.707-75.074, P < 0.001, B' = 0.883) were identified as independent predictive factors of postoperative CSF outflow. The density of the hematoma within 34.15 mm of the tear (clot 3.4) showed no statistical difference from that of the whole hematoma (P = 0.571). A density of clot 3.4 ≤ 60 HU was also a predictive factor of postoperative CSF outflow (area under curve: 0.771).
Conclusions: ICHV patients who meet the following conditions may benefit from MIC: (1) The MIC needle tip can be placed in the hematoma 21.79-34.15 mm from the ventricular tear; (2) the density of the whole hematoma is low (≤ 59 HU); and (3) the density of clot 3.4 is also low (≤ 60 HU). Future perspective studies should be conducted on this specific patient subtype.
Keywords: Computed tomography; Density; Intracerebral hemorrhage; Minimally invasive surgery.