Microbleed burden and hematoma expansion in acute intracerebral hemorrhage.
BACKGROUND
Intracranial amyloid and hypertensive angiopathy have been related to impaired blood vessel function and the etiology of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Microbleeds (MBs) are surrogate radiological markers that are associated with these underlying angiopathies. We assessed the hypothesis that MBs are associated with hematoma expansion (HE) in patients with hyperacute ICH.


METHODS
We studied patients with spontaneous supratentorial ICH within the first 6 h after onset. HE was defined as an increase≥33% in the volume of hematoma on the follow-up CT in comparison with the admission CT. The volume was calculated using the ABC/2 formula. MBs were detected by specific magnetic resonance sequences (gradient-echo). The presence, number and distribution of MBs were analyzed.


RESULTS
Our study included 44 patients. Their mean age was 68.9±11.1 years, and 70.5% of them were men. HE was observed in 14 of the patients (31.8%). HE was more prevalent in patients with more than 10 MBs compared with patients with 1-10 MBs (60 vs 12.5%; p=0.03).


CONCLUSIONS
A high burden of MBs is associated with an increased risk of HE in patients with ICH. This is probably a marker of a more severe underlying angiopathy.
Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (IIb Sant Pau), Barcelona, Spain.
Joan
J
Martí-Fàbregas
Raquel
R
Delgado-Mederos
Esther
E
Granell
Estrella
E
Morenas Rodríguez
Juan
J
Marín Lahoz
Lavinia
L
Dinia
David
D
Carrera
Natalia
N
Pérez de la Ossa
Jordi
J
Sanahuja
Tomás
T
Sobrino
Ana María
AM
De Arce
María
M
Alonso de Leciñana
D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006406:Hematoma / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D020300:Intracranial Hemorrhages / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors