Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio. Department of Neurological Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland Ohio. Electronic address: Christina.wright@uhhospitals.org Department of Neurological Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland Ohio. University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York. Department of Neurological Surgery, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland Ohio; Neurological and Behavioral Outcomes Center, Department of Psychiatry, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio.
BACKGROUND Many clinical and demographic factors can influence survival of patients with hematological malignancies who have intracranial hemorrhages. Understanding the influence of these factors on patient survival can guide treatment decisions and may inform prognostic discussions. We conducted a systematic literature review to determine survival of patients with intracranial hemorrhages and concomitant hematologic malignancy. METHODS A systematic literature review was
conducted and followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Pubmed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Ovid, SCOPUS, and Embase databases were queried with the following terms: ("intracranial hemorrhages" OR "brain hemorrhage" OR "cerebral hemorrhage" OR "subdural hematoma" OR "epidural hematoma" OR "intraparenchymal hemorrhage") AND ("Hematologic Neoplasms" OR "Myeloproliferative Disorders" OR "Myelofibrosis" OR "Essential thrombocythemia" OR "Leukemia"). Abstracts and articles were screened according to inclusion and exclusion criteria that were determined a priori. RESULTS Literature review yielded 975 abstracts from which a total of 68 full-text articles were reviewed. 12 articles capturing 634 unique patients were included in the final qualitative analysis. Median overall survival for all patients ranged from 20 days - 1.5 months while median overall survival for the subset of patients having ICH within 10 days of diagnosis of hematological malignancy was 5 days. Intraparenchymal hemorrhages, multiple foci of hemorrhage, transfusion-resistant low platelet counts, leukocytosis, low GCS scores at presentation, and ICH early in treatment course were associated with worse outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Survival for patients with hematological malignancies and concomitant ICHs remains poor. Early detection, recognition of poor prognostic and correction of hematological abnormalities appears essential to prevention and treatment of ICHs in this patient population.
