Abstract T P399: Patient Characteristics and Outcomes in Pregnancy-Related Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Background: Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) accounts for up to 4.1% of all pregnancy-related in-hospital deaths, but is less often aneurysmal and is associated with better short term outcomes than in non-pregnant patients. We sought to describe the risk factors, management and outcomes of pregnant vs. non-pregnant patients with SAH in the Get With The Guidelines (GWTG) Stroke Registry. Methods: Using medical history or ICD-9 codes, we identified 152 pregnant and 5745 non-pregnant SAH female patients aged 18-44 with SAH in GWTG from 2008-2013. Differences in characteristics were compared by Chi-square tests for categorical and Wilcoxon Rank-Sum tests for continuous variables. Stratified logistic regression assessed the effect of pregnancy on outcomes conditional on age and adjusted for patient and hospital characteristics. Results: Pregnant SAH patients were younger, more often black and insured with Medicaid. They had higher initial blood pressure (BP) and were less likely to report prior hypertension. Arrival delays from stroke onset were common in both groups (median 340 vs. 277 min), but pregnant SAH patients were more often already hospitalized at stroke onset (16% vs. 10%). Fewer pregnant vs. non-pregnant SAH patients had initial neurologic exam findings recorded (Table). Pregnant SAH patients had lower in-hospital death than non-pregnant patients (aOR 0.17, 95% CI 0.06-0.45) and were more likely at discharge to ambulate independently (aOR 2.40, 95% CI 1.56-3.69) and return home (aOR 2.60, 95% CI 1.67-4.06). Conclusions: Several differences exist between pregnant and non-pregnant women with SAH. Many present with BP well below the threshold for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, making prompt recognition and prevention of brain hemorrhage challenging. Overall, pregnancy-related SAH is associated with less morbidity and mortality than non-pregnancy related disease.