Early mortality following spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.

The authors reviewed the charts of 1,421 patients with cerebral hemorrhage to determine the cause of death. Limitation or withdrawal of life-sustaining interventions was the most common cause of death (68%) followed by brain death (28%). Neurologic reasons were the most common cause of delayed decisions to withdraw or limit therapy. Brain death was more common in African Americans, whereas life-sustaining interventions were withdrawn or limited early more often in whites.