Predicting 30-day case fatality of primary inoperable intracerebral hemorrhage based on findings at the emergency department.

BACKGROUND: Early survival of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) depends on several factors, including the location and size of the hematoma and the level of consciousness on admission. The aim of our study was to estimate the case fatality of primary inoperable ICH 30 days after the event in our hospital and to identify clinical and laboratory characteristics, recordable at the Emergency Department (ED), which could predict death at 30 days. METHODS: Clinical and laboratory data on all patients with primary ICH admitted to our hospital were retrospectively collected. RESULTS: Between January 2011 and June 2013 191 patients with primary ICH were admitted to our hospital. The 30-day case fatality rate was estimated to be 31.9%, as 61 patients died within 30 days after the ICH. Five variables were independently associated with 30-day case fatality: each decreased point at the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is associated with a 1.3-fold increase in the odds of death at 30 days; infratentorial location and intraventricular extension are associated with a 5.5-fold and a 4.7-fold increase in the odds of death at 30 days, respectively; each centimeter of the maximum diameter of the hematoma and each point increase of the international normalized ratio (INR) are associated with a 1.9-fold and a 3.5-fold increase in the odds of death at 30 days, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: GCS score on admission, infratentorial location of the hematoma, intraventricular extension of the hematoma, INR on admission, and maximum diameter of the hematoma are the 5 variables that are independently associated with 30-day case fatality of primary inoperable ICH. EDICH is introduced as a new grading scale, which includes laboratory and clinical findings at the ED and has predicting value of the 30-day case fatality.

Myasthenia gravis and stroke in the setting of giant cell arteritis.

This case report concerns the diagnosis of two independent chronic diseases in a patient hospitalized for stroke, myasthenia gravis (MG) and giant cell arteritis (GCA). MG has been found to be associated with several diseases, but there are very few cases documenting its coexistence with GCA. We report the case of a 79-year-old woman initially hospitalized for stroke. Patient's concurrent symptoms of blepharoptosis, dysphagia, and proximal muscle weakness were strongly suggestive of myasthenia gravis. The persistent low-grade fever and elevated inflammatory markers in combination with the visual deterioration that developed also raised the suspicion of GCA. Histological examination confirmed GCA, while muscle acetylcholine receptor antibodies were also present. Even though in medicine one strives to interpret a patient's symptoms with one diagnosis, when one entity cannot fully interpret the clinical and laboratory findings, clinicians must consider the possibility of a second coexisting illness.