Timing of treatment of aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage: are the goals set in international guidelines achievable?

Background and aims International guidelines emphasise the importance of securing ruptured cerebral aneurysms within 48-72 h of ictus. We assessed the timing of treatment of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) referred to a national neurosurgical centre. Materials and methods Analysis of a prospective database of patients with aSAH admitted between 1st of February 2016 and 29th of February 2020 was performed. The timing to treatment was expressed in days and analysed in three ways: ictus to treatment, ictus to referral and referral to treatment. ORs with 95% CI were calculated for aneurysm treatment within 24, 48 and 72 h for good grade (WFSN 1-3) and poor grade (WFNS 4-5) cohorts separately. Results Of a total of 538 patients with aSAH, the aneurysm was secured in 312 (58%) within 24 h and in 398 (74%) within 48 h of ictus. Securing the aneurysm within 48 h of ictus was achieved in 89% (395/444) of patients who were referred within 24 h of ictus, but in only 3.2% (3/94) who were referred > 24 h after ictus. Poor grade patients (WFNS 4-5) were more likely than good grade patients (WFNS 1-3) to be referred to neurosurgery within 48 h of ictus (OR 22.87, 95% CI 3.14-166.49, p = 0.0020) and for their aneurysm to be secured within 48 h (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.06-2.98, p = 0.0297) of ictus. Ictus to referral delay was highest in WFNS grade 1 patients. Conclusions In centres with 7 day per week provision of interventional neuroradiology and vascular neurosurgery, the majority of patients with aSAH can be treated within the timeframes recommended by international guidelines and this applies to all grades of aSAH. However, delays still occur in a significant proportion of patients and this particularly applies to delays in presentation and diagnosis in good grade patients.