Assessment of hemorrhagic onset on meningiomas: Systematic review

•These tumours follow the histopathological distribution of meningiomas in general.•The fact that the overwhelming majority is meningiomas with benign histological subtype is noteworthy.•Another relevant factor observed is that most reports are from patients of Asian origin, which can be a risk factor for tumour haemorrhage in that population. To review the data published on the subject to create a more comprehensive natural history of the haemorrhagic onset of meningiomas (IVMs). A Medline search up to June 2020, using the search term “bleeding meningioma,” returned 136 papers. As a first selection step, we adopted the following inclusion criteria: series and case reports about bleeding meningioma. Papers written in other languages but with abstracts written in English were also evaluated. A total of 190 tumours were evaluated, specifically 109 tumours from female patients and 81 tumours from male patients with a ratio of 1.34 female to 1.0 male (mean age of 54.86 ± 16.1years old). The majority were located in the convexity (129–67.9 %). Among the 190 tumours evaluated, 171 patients (90 %) presented with GI tumours, with a predominance of the meningothelial subtype (32.6 %). Nine patients (4.7 %) presented with grade GII tumours, and 10 (5.3 %) presented with GIII tumours. The most prevalent type was intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) at 50 %, followed by subdural at 27.36 %; the mortality rate was 13.1 % (25 deaths), the distribution of both location (prevalence of convexity: 18–72 %) and histopathology (grade 1: 22–88 %). These tumours follow the histopathological distribution of meningiomas, in general. The age distribution shows prevalence among the adult population but with a greater proportion in the elderly. The fact that the overwhelming majority of cases involve meningiomas with a benign histological subtype is noteworthy. Another relevant factor observed is that most reports are from Asian origin.