Abstract 215: Does the CT Angiography Spot Sign Identify Intracerebral Hemorrhage Patients More Likely to Benefit From Intensive Blood Pressure Reduction?

Background and Purpose: the computed tomography angiography (CTA) spot sign is a strong predictor of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) expansion, and may mark those most likely to benefit from intensive blood pressure (BP) reduction. The Spot Sign score in restricting ICH growth (SCORE-IT) study analyzed whether intensive BP reduction improved outcome in Spot Sign positive patients enrolled in the Antihypertensive Treatment of Acute Cerebral Hemorrhage II (ATACH-2) clinical trial. Methods: In ATACH-2, patients with ICH were randomly assigned to intensive (systolic BP target: 110-139 mmHg) versus standard (systolic BP target: 140-179 mmHg) BP treatment within 4.5 h from stroke onset. This analysis included patients with a CTA performed within 8 hours from onset. The association between intensive BP lowering, ICH expansion and functional outcome was investigated with a multivariable logistic regression model. Results: 133 subjects met the inclusion criteria, of whom 53 (39.9%) had a spot sign and 24/123 (19.5%) experienced ICH expansion. A total of 56/123 patients had a 90 day modified Rankin scale (mRS) >3 (45.5%). Among Spot positive patients, 74.1% of those in the intensive BP lowering group had poor outcome, compared with 50.0% of those in the standard group (p=0.31). After adjustment for potential confounders, intensive BP lowering was not associated with a significant reduction of ICH expansion (odds ratio [OR] 0.83, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.27 - 2.51, p = 0.74) or improved functional outcome (OR for mRS>3 1.24, 95% CI 0.53 - 2.91, p = 0.62) in spot sign positive ICH patients. Conclusions: We found no evidence that ICH patients with a spot sign specifically benefit from intensive BP reduction.