Epidemiologic and Evolutionary Profile of Patients With Subarachnoid Hemorrhage With Glasgow Coma Scale Score of 8 or Less Who Entered the Follow-Up Program of the National Institute of Donation and Transplantation.

INTRODUCTION: The improvement in understanding the process that determines the death of an individual and his or her evolution toward brain death allows organization and planning of health policies, optimization of clinical activity and management of organ and tissue procurement processes for transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to analyze the epidemiological and evolutionary profile of patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) with a Glasgow Coma Scale score (GCS) ≤8 who entered follow-up in the Neurocritical Patient Monitoring Program (SPN) of Instituto Nacional de Donación y Trasplante (INDT), Uruguay.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: SPN, a monitoring and follow-up program for neurocritical patients with GCS ≤ 8, prospectively collected data from 5 public and private intensive care units. A total of 160 patients with SAH with GCS ≤8 in 10 years were identified and analyzed using a 2-step nested model. Firstly, independent risk factors for mortality were identified, tested in different combinations, and one of them was selected using the best correct classification rate. In the second step, risk factors for evolution to brain death were investigated.

RESULTS: The mortality of patients with SAH with GCS ≤8 was 68%. Mortality for GCS 3 was 82%, significantly higher than for other values on the scale (P = .0025). Female sex (P = .011) and arterial hypertension (P = .017) were associated with higher mortality. There was no significant association between mortality and age, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation score, and Simplified Acute Physiologic Score II. Administration of analgesia and/or sedation was a protective factor (P < .0001). Of the patients who died, 50% were in brain death. We did not find clinical elements capable of identifying an increased probability of developing brain death.

CONCLUSIONS: Based on epidemiological data, models capable of improving the understanding of the complex process of death and particularly brain death can be generated. More studies are needed to explore the differential evolutionary behavior of critical neurological illness.