Clinical characteristics, complications, and outcome of patients
| Dexamethasone (n=12) | Placebo (n=14) | |
|---|---|---|
| Age (mean (SD)) | 58.3 (11.7) | 59.8 (7.4) |
| Haemorrhage to treatment (h, mean (SD)) | 30.3 (31.8) | 27.2 (29.7) |
| Glasgow coma scale scores: | ||
| 3–7 | 5 | 3 |
| 8–11 | 2 | 6 |
| 12–14 | 5 | 5 |
| Volume of haematoma (ml, mean (SD)) | 34 (36.4) | 35.7 (35.3) |
| Location of haematoma: | ||
| Basal ganglia | 7 | 8 |
| Thalamus | 3 | 3 |
| Lobar | 21-150 | 3† |
| Intraventricular leakage of blood | 8 | 8 |
| Mean (SD) arterial pressure (mm Hg) | 123.9 (13.9) | 133.8 (20.2) |
| Complications: | ||
| Infections‡ | 3 | 7 |
| Gastrointestinal bleeding§ | 0 | 2 |
| Diabetogenic effect¶ | 1 | 1 |
| Reasons for stopping allocated treatment: | ||
| Gastrointestinal bleed | 0 | 2 |
| Abdominal distension | 0 | 1 |
| Jaundice | 0 | 1 |
| Wrong diagnosis | 1 | 1 |
| Outcome at discharge: | ||
| Death | ||
| Due to herniation | 5 | 1 |
| Due to infection | 0 | 1 |
| Vegetative | 0 | 1 |
| Dependent | 5 | 9 |
| Independent | 2 | 2 |
↵1-150 One patient had haemorrhagic infarct. †One patient had aneurysmal bleed. ‡Infection which was not present or suspected at the time of admission to the study. §Includes overt gastrointestinal bleed (haematemesis, bloodstained gastric aspirate or melena; and clinically important gastrointestinal bleed (overt gastrointestinal bleed with either, a fall in systolic blood pressure>20 mm Hg within 2 hours of bleeding; fall in haemoglobin >2 g/dl; blood pressure reduction >10 mm Hg; and increase in heart rate >20 beats/minute on orthostatic change; or need for blood transfusion). ¶Fasting sugar >160 mg/dl, requiring regular insulin in a patient who was not previously considered to have diabetes, and who was not receiving glucose.