Strategy for systemic complications in the patients of intracranial hemorrhage

Abstract

Systemic complications such as pneumonia, urinary tract infection, heart failure and others had affects to the outcome of the patients of intracranial hemorrhage. Systemic complications were occurred in 40% of all intracranial hemorrhage patients and in even 20% of the patients who had only a slight illness over Glasgow Coma Scale 13. Infectious diseases accounted 60% of all complications in the intracranial hemorrhage patients. We founded new stroke care unit (SCU) and changed some strategies for these complications. Aggressive endotracheal intubation and prophylactic antibiotics administration were very effective to decrease the rate of aspiration pneumonia which was the most common complication in the patients of intracranial hemorrhage. However these new strategies reduced the rate of systemic infectious complications, the outcome of these patients was improved only to "moderate" from "poor". Reduction of systemic complications led to decrease the rates of death and vegetative state due to intracranial hemorrhage. We emphasized the importance of intensive care for acute stage of intracranial hemorrhage in SCU, because it made the patients possible to leave from bedridden.