The Discriminative Ability of ROTEM for Delayed Cerebral Ischemia and Poor Outcome Following Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Background: The prediction of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) and poor clinical outcome following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is an unmet clinical need to improve on stratification of patients. DCI and poor clinical outcome following aSAH have been associated with hypercoagulability as detected by viscoelastic testing. This study assesses temporal alterations in rotational thromboelastography (ROTEM) coagulation profiles and the discriminative ability of ROTEM parameters for DCI and poor clinical outcome following aSAH. Methods: ROTEM parameters were measured on admission, days 3–5, and days 9–11 after aSAH and compared between patients with and without DCI, radiological DCI, and poor 6-month clinical outcome as per modified Rankin Scale scores 4–6. Receiver operating characteristic curve analyses were used to calculate areas under the curve (AUCs) and determine cutoff values with a sensitivity > 90% for (radiological) DCI and with a specificity > 90% for poor outcome. Results: Of 160 included patients with aSAH, 31 (19%) had DCI, 16 (10%) had radiological DCI, and 68 (44%) had poor outcome at 6 months. DCI, radiological DCI, and poor clinical outcome were associated with hypercoagulability. The ROTEM parameter with the best discriminative ability for radiological DCI was INTEM clotting time (AUC 0.75) on admission day, with an optimal cutoff value of < 146 s (sensitivity 92%, specificity 47%). For poor outcome, this was increased clot strength by FIBTEM amplitude at 10 minutes (A10, AUC 0.85) on days 3–5, with an optimal cutoff value > 27 mm (specificity 94%, sensitivity 49%). Conclusions: In this study, ROTEM parameters indicative of increased coagulation had good predictive ability for poor clinical outcome. If independently validated, ROTEM parameters might have the potential to stratify patients with aSAH who may benefit from anticoagulant treatment in future trials with the aim to improve clinical outcome.