Abstract 211: Do Women Receive Less Aggressive Care Following Intracerebral Hemorrhage?

Background: Several studies have shown that women with ischemic stroke receive fewer proven therapies for secondary prevention. A small study found that women receive early DNR orders after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) more often than men ( Stroke 2013; 44: 3229) but national data regarding sex differences in ICH are lacking. Objective: To compare comorbidities and use of surgical treatments and palliative care between men and women with ICH. We tested the hypothesis that women receive less aggressive care after ICH. Methods: ERICH is a multi-center study of ICH risk factors and outcomes. We compared clinical variables, treatments (e.g., hematoma evacuation), and use of DNR orders in men compared with women. Chi square tests(categorical items) and t-tests (continuous items) were performed. Multivariable analyses assessed the likelihood of ICH surgery and/or palliative care after adjustment for variables that were significant (p Results: 2964 patients (1220 women) were analyzed. Mean age was higher in women (65.0 vs. 59.9, p Conclusions: Despite sex differences in several categories, no observable sex differences were found in use of surgical therapies or use of DNR/comfort care in an American population. Future work should focus on whether sex differences exist following ICH in patient-centered outcomes.