Intraventricular Bleeding and Hematoma Size as Predictors of Infection Development in Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Prospective Cohort Study

Background Acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is associated with increased susceptibility to bacterial infection. The physiopathology of this phenomenon is not very clear. We conducted a prospective observational study investigating the correlation and independent predictors of infections in patients with ICH. Patients and methods Patients admitted between April 1997 and June 2013 with ICH diagnosis were evaluated for inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results Two hundred twenty-two patients were included in this study. Ninety four patients (42.6%) presented with an infection during hospitalization being more common than pneumonia (30%) and urinary tract infections (14%). Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) (95% confidence interval [CI], 62.7% versus 39.3%; P P  = .0014) were more common in patients who had infections. We found the following risk factors for having an infection in patients with ICH: IVH (odds ratio [OR] 2.3; 95% IC, 1.3-4.1), each point of ICH score (OR 1.3; 95% CI, 1.1-1.6), and having a hematoma volume larger than 30 cc (OR 2.0; 95% CI, 1.1-3.5). The localization of the hematoma was not found to be relevant. Conclusions ICH score, size of the hematoma, and presence of IVH are independent risk factors for having an infection after ICH.