NEUROSURGICAL ASPECTS OF SEDIMENTATION LEVELS IN ACUTE INTRACEREBRAL HEMATOMA

We describe the neurosurgical aspects of sedimentation levels that are rarely found in acute intracerebral haematomas (ICH). We had four pat ients with acute ICH whose cerebral computed tomography revealed sedim entation levels. Two patients had received thrombolytic therapy for is chaemic heart disease and one for ischaemic stroke. Another patient, w ho was diagnosed later as having a coagulation disorder, did not have any medical history on admission. All patients had emergency ICH drain age under local anaesthesia. In the immediate postoperative period, we observed dramatic improvement in all the patients, without surgical c omplications, The sedimentation level in an ICH should be identified a s a specific indicator of a coagulation defect and a thorough search f or possible underlying coagulopathy is warranted. We believe that simp le ICH drainage should be performed as the haematoma is in a liquid fo rm.