BACKGROUND: Predictive values of admission blood glucose for early hematoma expansion in patients with intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) remain controversial. Blend sign is a novel image predictor for early hematoma growth that suggests presence of active bleeding. We investigated the association between hyperglycemia and blend sign in predicting early hematoma growth in ICH patients.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: All patients with intracranial hemorrhage were retrospectively reviewed. Clinical characteristics and radiological parameters were collected. Blood glucose was measured within 24 h after onset. CT scan results for hematoma expansion and blend sign were evaluated by 2 readers. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were applied to reveal the associations between hematoma growth and blend sign, as well as other variables.

RESULTS: Out of 164 patients with ICH, 52 exhibited early hematoma growth and 18 of these were diagnosed with blend sign. Average blood glucose was 7.53 mmol/L among all patients. By using multivariate analyses, the time of CT scan baseline, GCS score, hematoma size, blend sign, and blood glucose were associated with hematoma expansion, whereas only hyperglycemia was associated with blend sign.

CONCLUSIONS: Admission hyperglycemia is associated with hematoma expansion in the presence of blend sign. These findings suggest that elevated blood glucose is a possible factor predicting continuous bleeding. Strategies to control blood glucose and ameliorate hematoma growth are urgently needed and will be investigated in our future studies.

Keywords: Cerebral Hemorrhage, Diagnostic Imaging, Hematoma, Hyperglycemia, Neuroimaging