Three-year prognosis of first-ever primary pontine hemorrhage in a hospital-based registry

Our aim was to evaluate the mortality rate of primary pontine hemorrhage (PPH) and to determine the factors related to the prognosis. Limited data exist on the long-term prognosis and determinants of death in patients with PPH in China. Our study analyzed consecutive cases of first-ever PPH from April 2007 to March 2011 in a hospital-based stroke registry. Mortality rates during 30 day and 3 year follow-ups were analyzed. We used the Kaplan–Meier method to estimate the event rates and binary logistic regression analysis, and Cox proportional hazard regression analysis to identify predictors of short-term and long-term prognosis, respectively. A total of 76 patients were identified, 44 (57.89%) were men. Both 30 day and 3 year overall mortalities in men were higher than women but this different was not statistically significant. Coma on admission, hematoma ⩾4 mL and a massive hemorrhage were significantly related to 30 day mortality of PPH. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression revealed that coma on admission (hazard ratio [HR] 2.18; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16–4.13; p = 0.02) and hematoma ⩾4 mL (HR 2.23; 95% CI 1.25–3.96; p = 0.01) were independent predictors of 3 year mortality. In conclusion, the short-term mortality rate and factors related to the prognosis of Chinese patients with PPH are similar to those reported for other populations. A low Glasgow coma scale score on admission and a large hematoma volume may be related to poor 3 year prognosis after PPH.