Abstract

Introduction: Viscoelastic hemostatic assays can detect coagulopathy relevant for intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients at risk for hematoma expansion. However, it is unclear whether these assays associate with long term ICH outcomes. We sought to assess whether baseline coagulopathy detectable via viscoelastic hemostatic assay associates with poor 6-month neurological outcomes after ICH. Methods: Spontaneous ICH patients enrolled in a single-center prospective observational study from 2013 to 2020 who received baseline viscoelastic hemostatic assay testing via Rotational Thromboelastometry (ROTEM) were included. Patients with prior anticoagulant use were excluded. ROTEM assessments of coagulation kinetics and clot strength were the primary exposure variables. Poor 6-month neurological outcome was defined as modified Rankin Scale (mRS) 4-6. Multivariable logistic regression analyses assessed the relationships of ROTEM parameters with 6-month outcomes after adjusting for ICH score, hemoglobin, and sex. Results: Of 44 patients included for analysis, the mean age was 64, 57% were female, 52% had deep ICH, and the median ICH volume was 23.3 mL. Poor 6-month outcome was seen in 61%. We identified that slower coagulation kinetics was associated with poor 6-month outcome as assessed in both extrinsic and intrinsic pathways (EXTEM CFT: adjusted OR 1.06, 95% CI: 1.02-1.12, p=0.02; INTEM CFT: adjusted OR 1.05, 95% CI: 1.01-1.10, p=0.05, respectively). Weaker clot strength was also associated with poor 6-month outcome (EXTEM MCF: adjusted OR 0.78, 95% CI: 0.59-0.93, p=0.03; INTEM MCF: adjusted OR 0.83, 95% CI: 0.68-0.97). We did not identify similar relationships using conventional coagulation assays (ie., PT/PTT/INR, platelet count). Conclusions: We identified that baseline impaired coagulation kinetics and weaker clot strength seen using ROTEM testing associate with poor 6-month ICH outcomes. Further work is needed to clarify the generalizability of these findings and the mechanisms driving these relationships to assess whether viscoelastic guided therapies can potentially be used to improve long-term ICH outcomes.

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