ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Lobar intracerebral haemorrhage (LH) is an uncommon cause of stroke. Many LH are caused by cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). The aim of the present study is to analyse the clinical signs, risk factors, lesion volume and development, of a consecutive series of patients suffering from LH and to compare the various characteristics between haemorrhages which comply with the Boston criteria for CAA and those which do not comply with these inclusion criteria. METHODS: A consecutive series of 106 patients suffering from LH and admitted to the neurological service in the Meixoeiro Hospital of Vigo between 1991 and 2005 is described. The Boston criteria were applied to all patients suffering from LH associated with possible, probable and confirmed CAA. The clinical signs, risk factors, haemorrhage sizes, evolution and complications of the patients complying with the CAA inclusion criteria were compared to those who did not comply with the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: The 106 patients from the series, represent 14.4% of intracerebral haemorrhages and 3.7% of all strokes. Fifty-four percent (54 %) of the patients were female and arterial hypertension was an important risk factor. Twenty point eight percent (20.8%) of the patients were admitted in coma and 60% with hemiparesis. Of these LH patients 28.3% died. The haemorrhage volume and the female gender were the only predictive factors for death. No significant variables were observed to differentiate the groups in the comparative analysis of the subgroups of patients with CAA inclusion criteria and those without. CONCLUSIONS: The series studied showed similar risk factors and clinical characteristics to other published series. No predictive clinical variables were found to differentiate between LH which complied with CAA inclusion criteria and those that did not comply.
