Elevated C-reactive protein and white blood cell count at admission predict functional outcome after non-aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage

IntroductionPatients with non-aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are considered to have an overall benign course of disease compared to patients suffering from aneurysmal SAH. Nevertheless, a small but significant number of such patients might only achieve unfavorable outcome. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to determine if routine laboratory markers of acute phase response are associated with unfavorable outcome in patients with non-aneurysmal SAH.MethodsFrom 2006 to 2017, 154 patients suffering from non-aneurysmal SAH were admitted to our institution. Patients were stratified according to the distribution of cisternal blood into patients with perimesencephalic SAH (pSAH) versus non-perimesencephalic SAH (npSAH). C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cells (WBC) assessments were performed within 24h of admission as part of routine laboratory workup. Outcome was assessed according to the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) after 6 months and stratified into favorable (mRS 0-2) vs. unfavorable (mRS 3-6).ResultsThe multivariate regression analysis revealed CRP>5mg/l (p=0.004, OR 143.7), WBC count>12.1 G/l (p=0.006, OR 47.8), presence of IVH (p=0.02, OR 13.5), poor-grade SAH (p=0.01, OR 45.2) and presence of CVS (p=0.003, OR 149.9) as independently associated with unfavorable outcome in patients with non-aneurysmal SAH.ConclusionElevated C-reactive protein and WBC count at admission were associated with unfavorable outcome after non-aneurysmal SAH.