Oral anticoagulants can improve the functional outcome in survivors of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) accounts for 10-15% of strokes worldwide. Anticoagulation has been believed to induce ICH for a long time; however, oral anticoagulants can have some beneficial impact, especially on the patient's outcome. OBJECT:This study demonstrates how the history of oral anticoagulant administration can affect the outcome of patients surviving spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage. METHODS:A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data of 93 patients were included in the study. All patients underwent thorough neurological examination and the size of the hematoma was calculated in cm3. Patients' outcome was estimated using Extended Glasgow Outcome Score (EGOS) one day after surgery, and 4 months later. Statistical analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon signed ranks test for numeric data, and the Chi-squared test for categorical data, a Cox regression model was used to calculate the degree of correlation.RESULTS: Among the 93 cases, 37 were females and 56 were males, age ranged from 18-90 years (mean= 58,26 ± 9.62),. Fifty-one patients received anti-coagulation, while 42 did not receive anti-coagulation prior to the onset of the condition. The average size of the hematomas was 42.94 ml (± 8.63), and while larger sizes, being recorded with the use of anticoagulation (Mean = 43.75 ± 7.99) than without anti-coagulation( mean= 41.98 ± 9.36) (p value < 0.001 95% conf interval [1.499966 6.000077] . Analysis showed that there was positive correlation between the intake of the anti-coagulation prior to the onset of the symptoms and the overall outcome improvement at the end of the follow-up period. (p value< 0.0001). CONCLUSION:Outcome of survivors of hematoma evacuation in patients who were on oral anticoagulants was better. Further studies are required to improve the clinical practice.