Differences in neurosurgical treatment of intracerebral haemorrhage: a nation-wide observational study of 578 consecutive patients

Background Supratentorial intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) carries an excessive mortality and morbidity. Although surgical ICH treatment can be life-saving, the indications for surgery in larger cohorts of ICH patients are controversial and not well defined. We hypothesised that surgical indications vary substantially among neurosurgical centres in Sweden. Objective In this nation-wide retrospective observational study, differences in treatment strategies among all neurosurgical departments in Sweden were evaluated. Methods Patient records, neuroimaging and clinical outcome focused on 30-day mortality were collected on each operated ICH patient treated at any of the six neurosurgical centres in Sweden from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2015. Results In total, 578 consecutive surgically treated ICH patients were evaluated. There was a similar incidence of surgical treatment among different neurosurgical catchment areas. Patient selection for surgery was similar among the centres in terms of patient age, pre-operative level of consciousness and co-morbidities, but differed in ICH volume, proportion of deep-seated vs. lobar ICH and pre-operative signs of herniation ( p