Sixty-nine severely head-injured patients treated by general surgeons over a 28 month period with admission Glasgow Coma Scale motor scores of 3 to 8 were reviewed retrospectively. Fifty-one patients were comatose on admission with periods from injury to admission exceeding 4 h in 34 patients who were referred from peripheral hospitals. Forty patients with acute intracranial bleeding underwent emergency decompressive surgery with 13 good recoveries and 18 deaths; good recoveries were observed in 11 of 20 patients with extradural haemorrhages, one out of eight patients with subdural haemorrhages, and one of 12 patients with intracerebral and/or combined haemorrhages. Twenty-nine patients with no evidence of acute mass lesions were treated medically with sedation, mechanical ventilation and mannitol infusion for cerebral decompression with seven good recoveries and 16 deaths. There were 15 good outcomes in 40 patients with admission motor scores of 6, 7 or 8 and five good outcomes in 29 patients with scores of 3, 4 or 5. A good outcome of 29% in the study may be improved by (i) better neurosurgical training of surgical and nursing staff; (ii) provision of technologically advanced diagnostic and treatment modalities; (iii) an efficient referral system; and (iv) provision of effective long-term rehabilitation.
This is a prospective study conducted from February 2000 to July 2002 in a single neurosurgeon neurosurgical service in the state of Sarawak, Malaysia. There were 66 cases of subarachnoid hemorrhage or intracranial aneurysm presenting to this hospital over the study period. Fifty cases had their aneurysms clipped. Eighty percent of our patients were operated within 48 h of presentation. Forty-four percent presented with poor WFNS grades of 4 and 5. We had a 20% operative mortality and 29% total management mortality. Twenty-nine (58%) of the operated cases had a favorable outcome with a mean follow-up of 32 weeks. Multiple aneurysms were less common. The diagnosis of aneuysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and clipping of aneurysms have increased dramatically over the previous two and half years indicating an increased awareness of the diagnosis and treatment. This series supports the previously reported beliefs that the lower rate of aneurymal subarachnoid hemorrhage in developing countries is likely due to both underdiagnosis and undertreatment. Good results can be achieved in developing countries with early diagnosis and intensive management.