title: Therapeutic strategies in acute intracerebral hemorrhage.
abstract: Intracerebral hemorrhage is a devastating disease, and no specific therapy has been proven to reduce mortality in a randomized controlled trial. However, management in a neuroscience intensive care unit does appear to improve outcomes, suggesting that many available therapies do in fact provide benefit. In the acute phase of intracerebral hemorrhage care, strategies aimed at minimizing ongoing bleeding include reversal of anticoagulation and modest blood pressure reduction. In addition, the monitoring and regulation of glucose levels, temperature, and, in selected cases, intracranial pressure are recommended by many groups. Selected patients may benefit from hematoma evacuation or external ventricular drainage. Ongoing clinical trials are examining aggressive blood pressure management, hemostatic therapy, platelet transfusion, stereotactic hematoma evacuation, and intraventricular thrombolysis. Finally, preventing recurrence of intracerebral hemorrhage is of pivotal importance, and tight blood pressure management is paramount.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurocritical Care and Emergency Neurology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA. brouwers@chgr.mgh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: H Bart
authors.initials: HB
authors.lastname: Brouwers
authors.forename: Joshua N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Goldstein
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000925:Anticoagulants / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D009493:Neurosurgery / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D000925:Anticoagulants