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Published Online
on November 13, 2008

Stroke. 2008
Published online before print November 13, 2008, doi: 10.1161/STROKEAHA.108.517805
A more recent version of this article appeared on January 1, 2009
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Right arrow Cerebral Aneurysm, AVM, & Subarachnoid hemorrhage

Submitted on February 18, 2008
Accepted on June 15, 2008

Variation in Outcome After Subarachnoid Hemorrhage. A Study of Neurosurgical Units in UK and Ireland

Julia Langham MSc*; Barnaby C. Reeves DPhil; Kenneth W. Lindsay PhD, FRCS; Jan H. van der Meulen PhD; Peter J. Kirkpatrick FMedSci; Anil R. Gholkar MD; Andrew J. Molyneux FRCR; Donald M. Shaw FRCS; Lynn Copley MSc; John P. Browne PhD; for the Steering Group for National Study of Subarachnoid Haemorrhage

From Health Services Research Unit (J.L., B.C.R., J.H.v.d.M., J.P.B.), Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK; Clinical Trials and Evaluation Unit (B.C.R.), Clinical Science South Bristol, University of Bristol, UK; Department of Neurosurgery (K.W.L.), Southern General Hospital, Glasgow, UK; Clinical Effectiveness Unit, Royal College of Surgeons of England (J.v.d.M., L.C., J.P.B.), UK; Department of Neurosurgery (P.J.K.), University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK; Department of Neuroradiology (A.R.G.), Newcastle General Hospital, Newcastle, UK; Department of Neuroradiology (A.J.M.), Radcliffe Infirmary, Oxford, UK; Walton Centre for Neurology & Neurosurgery (D.M.S.), Liverpool, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: julia.langham{at}lshtm.ac.uk.

Backgrounds and Purpose—The purpose of the study was to describe the characteristics, management, and outcomes of patients with confirmed aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and to compare outcomes across neurosurgical units (NSUs) in the UK and Ireland.

Methods—A cohort of patients admitted to NSUs with subarachnoid hemorrhage between September 14, 2001 and September 13, 2002 was studied longitudinally. Information was collected to characterize clinical condition on admission and treatment. Death or severe disability, defined by the Glasgow Outcome Score–Extended, was ascertained at 6 months.

Results—Data for 2397 patients with a confirmed aneurysm and no coexisting neurological pathology were collected by all 34 NSUs in the UK and Ireland. Aneurysm repair was attempted in 2198 (91.7%) patients (surgical clipping, 57.7%; endovascular coiling, 41.2%; other repair, 1.0%). Most patients (65.0%) were admitted to the NSU on the same day or the day after their hemorrhage; 32.0% of treated patients had the aneurysm repaired on the day of admission to the NSU (day 0), day 1 or day 2 and a further 39.3% by day 7. Glasgow Outcome Score–Extended at 6 months was obtained for 90.6% of patients (2172), of whom 38.5% had an unfavorable outcome. The median risk of an unfavorable outcome for all patients was 31% (5th and 95th percentiles, 12% and 83%), depending on prerepair prognostic factors. After adjustment for case-mix, the percentage of patients with an unfavorable outcome in each NSU did not differ significantly from the overall mean.

Conclusions—In this study that collected representative data from the UK and Ireland, there was no evidence that the performance of any NSU differed from the average.


Key words: aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage • embolization • epidemiology • humans • neurosurgical procedures • therapeutic




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L. Pibouleau, I. Boutron, B. C Reeves, R. Nizard, and P. Ravaud
Applicability and generalisability of published results of randomised controlled trials and non-randomised studies evaluating four orthopaedic procedures: methodological systematic review
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[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]