13 Sep Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Outcomes and Ethnic Variation

R. Loch Macdonald, M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.S.(C), F.A.A.N.S., F.A.C.S.
Keenan Endowed Chair in Surgery
Head, Division of Neurosurgery
St. Michael’s Hospital
Professor of Surgery, University of Toronto
30 Bond Street
Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5B 1W8

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?

Answer: We found that Asian/Pacific Islander patients with a rupture brain aneurysm were more likely to die and Hispanic patients less likely to die after brain aneurysm rupture.

African-American patients were more likely than Caucasians to require institutional care following discharge from the hospital, although their risk of death while in the hospital was similar.

MedicalResearch.com: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report?

Answer: The ethnicity of a patient matters for many reasons – what drugs work best, how to treat the patient and such.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a result of this study?

Answer: We believe that fundamental understanding of the genetic influences on outcome for subarachnoid hemorrhage could lead to understanding of the causes of poor outcome in this condition, as well as ways to potentially improve outcome.

Citation:

Racial/ethnic differences in inpatient mortality and use of institutional postacute care following subarachnoid hemorrhage: Clinical article

Blessing N. R. Jaja, M.B.B.S., M.Sc., Gustavo Saposnik, M.D., M.Sc., F.R.C.P.C., Rosane Nisenbaum, Ph.D., Benjamin W. Y. Lo, M.D., M.Sc., F.R.C.S.C., Tom A. Schweizer, Ph.D., Kevin E. Thorpe, M.Math., Ph.D., and R. Loch Macdonald, M.D., Ph.D., F.R.C.S.

Journal of Neurosurgery
Posted online on 10 Sep 2013.

Last Updated on September 13, 2013 by Marie Benz MD FAAD