Diabetes is an independent risk factor for in-hospital mortality from acute spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage

OBJECTIVE - We tested the hypothesis that diabetes is an independent determ inant of outcome after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS - This was a hospital-based prospective study. The setting was an acute care 350-bed hospital in the city of Barcelona, Sp ain. Spontaneous ICH was diagnosed in 229 (11%) of 2,000 consecutive stroke patients included in a prospective stroke registry during a 10-year period . Main outcome measures were frequency of demographic variables, risk facto rs, clinical events, neuroimaging data, and outcome in ICH patients with an d without diabetes. Variables related to vital status at discharge (alive o r dead) in the univariate analysis plus age were studied in 4 logistical re gression models. RESULTS - A total of 35 patients (15.3%) had diabetes. The overall in-hospi tal mortality rate was 54.3% in the diabetic group and 26.3% in the nondiab etic group (P < 0.001). Previous cerebral infarction, altered consciousness , sensory symptoms, cranial nerve palsy, multiple topography of the hematom a, intraventricular hemorrhage, and infectious complications were significa ntly more frequent in diabetic patients than in nondiabetic patients. The p resence of diabetes was a significant predictive variable in the model base d on demographic variables and cardiovascular risk factors (odds ratio 2.98 [95% CI 1.37-6.46]) and in the models based on these variables plus clinic al variables (5.76 [2.01-16.51]), neuroimaging variables (5.59 [1.87-16.69] ), and outcome data (6.10 [2.04-18.29]). CONCLUSIONS - Diabetes is an independent determinant of death after ICH. IC H in diabetic individuals presents some different clinical features compare d with ICH in nondiabetic patients.