• Ines C Kiphuth, Dimitre Staykov, Martin Köhrmann, Tobias Struffert, Gregor Richter, Jurgen Bardutzky, Rainer Kollmar, Mathias Mäurer, Peter D Schellinger, Max-Josef Hilz, Arnd Doerfler, Stefan Schwab, and Hagen B Huttner.
• Department of Neurology, University of Erlangen, Schwabachanlage 6, Erlangen, Germany.
• Cerebrovasc. Dis. 2009 Jan 1;27(2):146-50.

BackgroundVenous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common complication after stroke. Application of low molecular weight heparins (LMWH) has been proven to be beneficial for the prevention of VTE in ischemic stroke patients. However, there is no consensus whether and how to administer LMWH for prevention of thrombotic complications after acute spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH), the main concern being possible hematoma growth. The objective of this study was to assess the safety of early subcutaneous LMWH in patients with sICH with respect to hemorrhage enlargement.MethodsA total of 97 patients with sICH were analyzed. LMWH (either enoxaparin-natrium or dalteparin-natrium) were initiated within 36 h after admission in all patients without clinical evidence of hemorrhage enlargement or an absence of evidence of hematoma growth on CT. Hematoma growth (significant when >33%, moderate when >20%) was assessed on follow-up CT between days 5 and 11.ResultsNone of the patients showed a significant hemorrhage growth. Between days 2 and 10, 2 patients experienced a moderate hematoma enlargement of 22.4 and 20.9%. None of the included patients developed a fatal lung embolism.ConclusionsEarly application of subcutaneous LMWH for prevention of venous thromboembolism seems to be safe, and probably does not increase the risk of hematoma growth in patients with sICH.Copyright (c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.

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