Intubation without premedication may worsen outcome for unconsciousness patients with intracranial hemorrhage

To clarify the influence of an intubation maneuver with or without premedication for an intracranial hemorrhage in an unconsciousness patient, we retrospectively analyzed 70 patients who had received intubation for unconsciousness and in whom a nontraumatic intracranial hemorrhage was found by CT over a 6-year period. They were divided into 2 groups, consisting of a drug group (n = 15), wherein drugs were used before intubation, and control group (n = 55), wherein no drugs were used before were intubation. The physical findings on admission, CT findings, Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) at 3 months from admission were analyzed between the groups. There were no significant differences in the backgrounds of the subjects between the groups. The GOS in the control group was significantly higher than in the drug group (P < .001). In cases of intubation for unconscious patients who may have intracranial hemorrhaging, premedication is considered associated with a more favorable outcome.