Incidence of complications in patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage

Abstract

The occurrence of complications affects the evolution and darkens the prognosis of patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage. The objective was to determine the incidence of neurological and non-neurological complications in a series of patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage. An observational, descriptive-correlational and retrospective study of 96 patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage between 2016 and 2021 was carried out. The frequency of different neurological and non-neurological complications was determined, as well as the relationship between the presence of neurological complications and other variables through analysis. bivariate (Odds Ratio and its confidence interval). Among the results it is found that 53% of the patients presented some type of neurological complication, which prevailed in those 60 years of age or older (62% vs 45%), in aneurysmal etiology (54% vs 27%) and when the diagnosis was made. in the first 48 hours of the onset of symptoms (56% vs 43%). The frequency of complicated patients increased from grade I to grade V on the Hunt and Hess scale (OR 30.6[8.2;113]), the same as on the Fisher scale (OR 11.6[3 ,1;43,2]). The most frequent neurological complication was intracranial hypertension (39%), while the non-neurological one was pneumonia (24%). It is concluded that the series of patients was characterized by a high frequency of neurological complications, among which intracranial hypertension predominated. An evident relationship was demonstrated between the worst grades on the Hunt and Hess and Fisher imaging scales, obtained in the patient's assessment on admission, and the higher incidence of neurological complications.