High re-bleeding rate in young adults after subarachnoid haemorrhage from giant aneurysms

Low re-bleeding rates within the first 14 days of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage are reported in young patients. Furthermore, re-bleeding rate for giant aneurysms does not exceed 20% according to the literature. Our own clinical impression is that the re-bleeding rate seems to be much higher in giant aneurysms than reported, particularly in young patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate re-bleeding rate after subarachnoid haemorrhage following rupture of giant aneurysms in a younger population. We reviewed records of 23 patients who were treated in our institution for subarachnoid haemorrhage from giant aneurysms between 1994 and 2003. By definition, the aneurysms were larger than 25 mm in diameter. Five patients were younger than 40 years of age at the time of the aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage. All younger patients (