Background and Purpose
Monocytes may contribute to secondary injury after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We tested the association of absolute monocyte count (AMC) with 30-day ICH case-fatality in a multi-ethnic cohort.
Methods
Ethnic/Racial Variations of Intracerebral Hemorrhage (ERICH) study is a prospective, multi-center, case-control study of ICH among white, black, and Hispanic patients. In 240 adults with non-traumatic ICH within 24 hours of symptom onset, we evaluated the influence of ICH score and complete blood count components on 30-day case-fatality using generalized linear models.
Results
Mean age was 62.8 years (SD 14years); 61.7% were male, 33.3% black, and 29.6% Hispanic. Median ICH volume was 9.9ml (IQR 4.4–26.7). After adjusting for patient age and initial hemoglobin, higher total white blood cell count (WBC) (p=0.0011), driven by higher absolute neutrophil count (ANC) (p= 0.002), was associated with larger ICH volume, whereas absolute monocyte count (AMC) was not (p=0.15). After adjusting for age, GCS, ICH volume, location, and presence or absence of intraventricular hemorrhage, baseline AMC was independently associated with higher 30-day case-fatality (OR 5.39, 95%CI 1.87–15.49, p=0.0018) whereas ANC (OR 1.04, 0.46-2.32, p=0.93) and WBC (OR 1.62, 0.58–4.54, p=0.36) were not.
Conclusions
These data support an independent association between higher admission AMC and 30-day case-fatality in ICH. Inquiry into monocyte-mediated pathways of inflammation and apoptosis may elucidate the basis for the observed association and may be targets for ICH neuroprotection.