Prognostic significance of plasma S1P in acute intracerebral hemorrhage: A prospective cohort study

•Plasma S1P levels are substantially elevated after ICH.•Plasma S1P levels of patients peaked at day 5 and were significantly higher than those of healthy controls.•Plasma S1P levels are significantly correlated with NIHSS scores and hematoma volume after ICH.•Plasma S1P is an independent predictor of 3-month poor prognosis after ICH.•Plasma S1P may efficiently predict clinical outcome after ICH. Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) may regulate neuroinflammatory immunity and blood–brain barrier integrity. This study was designed to assess the prognostic role of plasma S1P in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). In this prospective cohort study, plasma S1P levels were measured in 51 controls, at admission in 114 ICH patients and at days 1, 3, 5 and 7 in 51 of all patients. Univariate analysis and multivariate analysis were sequentially used to investigate severity correlation and prognosis association. Plasma S1P levels were significantly elevated at admission, peaked at day 5, and declined at day 7, which were significantly higher during 7 days than those of controls (all P 0.05). Admission plasma S1P levels, in close correlation with National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores [β, 7.661; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 4.893–10.399; P