Intensive blood pressure control reduces the risk of progressive hemorrhage in patients with acute hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage: A retrospective observational study

Abstract Objective To investigate the impact of intensive blood pressure control on progressive intracerebral hemorrhage and outcome in patients with high blood pressure and intracerebral hemorrhage. Patients and methods A retrospective study was conducted recruiting 659 patients with acute hemorrhagic stroke between Jan. 2012 and May 2018. Patients recruited before May 2015 were treated with a target systolic level of Results A total of 351 and 308 patients with acute hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage were recruited before and after May 2015, respectively. Progressive intracerebral hemorrhage was identified among 111 out of 659 patients. Patients who received intensive blood pressure control showed a statistically lower rate of hematoma enlarging (43 of 308, 13.9% vs. 74 of 351, 21.1%, p = 0.018). The rates of operation and modified Rankin scores at 90 days were statistically lower with intensive blood control, while the mortality, length of ICU stay and rate of serious adverse events were similar between the two groups. Intensive BP control is an independent factor in predicting hematoma growing, with a more favorable discrimination (AUC = 0.889; 95%CI, 0.859–0.917) than other two models (AUC = 0.821; 95%CI, 0.791–0.852; and AUC = 0.635; 95%CI, 0.588–0.682). Conclusion Intensive blood pressure control reduce the risk of progressive intracerebral hemorrhage and improved functional outcomes in patients with acute hemorrhagic stroke.