• Jens Witsch, Guido J Falcone, Audrey C Leasure, Charles Matouk, Matthias Endres, Lauren Sansing, Daniel Woo, and Kevin N Sheth.
• Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, 15 York Street, LLCI 10th floor, Room 1003C, P.O. Box 208018, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
• Neurocrit Care. 2021 Oct 1; 35 (2): 418427418-427.

BackgroundIn patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), pre-hospital markers of disease severity might be useful to potentially triage patients to undergo early interventions.ObjectiveHere, we tested whether loss of consciousness (LOC) at the onset of ICH is associated with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) on brain computed tomography (CT).MethodsAmong 3000 ICH cases from ERICH (Ethnic/Racial Variations of Intracerebral Hemorrhage study, NS069763), we included patients with complete ICH/IVH volumetric CT measurements and excluded those with seizures at ICH onset. Trained investigators extracted data from medical charts. Mental status at symptom onset (categorized as alert/oriented, alert/confused, drowsy/somnolent, coma/unresponsive/posturing) and 3-month disability (modified Rankin score, mRS) were assessed through standardized interviews of participants or dedicated proxies. We used logistic regression and mediation analysis to assess relationships between LOC, IVH, and unfavorable outcome (mRS 4-6).ResultsTwo thousand seven hundred and twenty-four patients met inclusion criteria. Median admission Glasgow Coma Score was 15 (interquartile range 11-15). 46% had IVH on admission or follow-up CT. Patients with LOC (mental status: coma/unresponsive, n = 352) compared to those without LOC (all other mental status, n = 2372) were younger (60 vs. 62 years, p = 0.005) and had greater IVH frequency (77 vs. 41%, p < 0.001), greater peak ICH volumes (28 vs. 11 ml, p < 0.001), greater admission systolic blood pressure (200 vs. 184 mmHg, p < 0.001), and greater admission serum glucose (158 vs. 127 mg/dl, p < 0.001). LOC was independently associated with IVH presence (odds ratio, OR, 2.6, CI 1.9-3.5) and with unfavorable outcome (OR 3.05, CI 1.96-4.75). The association between LOC and outcome was significantly mediated by IVH (beta = 0.24, bootstrapped CI 0.17-0.32).ConclusionLOC at ICH onset may be a useful pre-hospital marker to identify patients at risk of having or developing IVH.© 2021. The Author(s).

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