Takeaway
Computed tomography (CT)-based biomarkers of cerebral small vessel disease (SVD) are associated with 6-month post-intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) functional outcome. Incorporation of these biomarkers into the ICH score did not significantly improve its precision.
Why this matters ?
Only 20% of survivors of spontaneous ICH are functionally independent 6 months post-stroke. Prognosing the functional outcome of an individual patient is challenging.
The ICH score is a widely used and well-validated 6-point score based on several indicators of poor post-stroke outcomes, including: Glasgow Coma Scale score of 3–4 (2 points) or 5–12 (1 point), age of 80 years or older (1 point), infratentorial site (1 point), volume of 30 mL or greater (1 point) and intraventricular hemorrhage (1 point).
Cerebral SVD is responsible for the majority (around 77%) of spontaneous ICH and can be readily assessed via neuroimaging. Incorporating cerebral SVD factors into the ICH score may improve its performance as a prognostic tool.