Hypodensities within an acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) detected on a noncontract computed tomography (NCCT) scan may predict hematoma expansion, independent of other clinical and imaging predictors, according to a recent study. Researchers analyzed a cohort of 784 patients with ICH (the development cohort; 55.6% female), examined NCCT findings for any hypodensity, and replicated findings on a different cohort of patients (the replication cohort; 52.7% female). A total of 1,029 patients were included in the analysis. They found:

• In the development and replication cohorts, 222 of 784 patients (28.3%) and 99 of 245 patients (40.4%; 321 of 1,029 patients [31.2%)], respectively, had NCCT scans that demonstrated hypodensities at baseline.

• In univariate analyses, hypodensities were associated with hematoma expansion (86 of 163 patients with hematoma expansion had hypodensities [52.8%], whereas 136 of 621 patients without hematoma expansion had hypodensities [21.9%]).

Citation: Boulouis G, Morotti A, Brouwers HB, et al. Association between hypodensities detected by computed tomography and hematoma expansion in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage. [Published online ahead of print June 20, 2016]. JAMA Neurol. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2016.1218.