Differential diagnosis of intracerebral haemorrhages. Cases from the institute of neurology and neurosurgery

Abstract

Background. Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is the second most common type of stroke, responsible for about 20% of total number of cerebrovascular accidents. There are many pathologies associated with ICH, some related to common vascular risk factors like hypertension, others related to ruptured saccular aneurysm, and vascular malformation, and others to neurodegeneration like amyloid angiopathy. Case report. We present a series of cases of intracerebral haemorrhages related both to the most common causes and mechanisms of ICH, as well as other, less frequent, pathologies that could manifest as a hemorrhagic stroke. Differential diagnosis is based on hematoma localization, size and shape, age of the patients, and vascular risk factors. We also present data on prognostic factors for hematoma growth and outcome. All cases were collected from the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery ”Diomid Gherman”, Chișinau, Republic of Moldova. Conclusions. Although ICH is the second leading cause of stroke, there is a wide range of pathologies that can result in intracerebral hemorrhage and require an extensive work-up, especially in young patients without vascular risk factors.