Long-term outcome and quality of life of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage admitted to intensive care unit: a single-center retrospective study

Abstract Patients admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) after non-traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) represent a group with distinctive characteristics and few data are available on long-term outcome in this population. We conducted a retrospective study in an Italian intensive care unit. All patients with non-traumatic SAH (ICD-9-CM Diagnosis Code 430) admitted to ICU were included. Disability and quality of life were evaluated via telephone interview after 12-15 months after initial bleeding using GOSE and EuroQoL, respectively. Baseline and clinical course characteristics were analyzed to evaluate relation with poor outcome defined as GOSE ≤ 3. Final population consisted of thirty-eight patients. Twenty-four patients (63.2%) had favourable outcome (GOSE ≥ 4). Among 29 patients (76.3%) who survived at 1-year, median EQ-5D Index was 0.743 (IQR 0.287), while median EQ-VAS was 74.79 (IQR 18.5). Median EQ-5D Index and median EQ-VAS were higher among patients with favorable outcome (EQ-5D Index p=0.037, EQ-VAS p=0.003). Among baseline characteristics, only HH scale showed a significant relation with disability at one year (p=0.033). Between complications occurred during ICU-stay only early HICP was related with unfavourable outcome (p=0.028). Higher HH scale and early HICP were related with unfavourable outcome. Among patients with unfavourable outcome, quality of life has a broad range of variability and this result should be taken into account when reporting patient-centred outcomes.