Epidemiological, clinical, and therapeutic aspects of primary intracerebral hemorrhage.

Primary intracerebral hemorrhage is the least treatable form of stroke and is associated with high mortality rates. In the thrombolytic era, the attention has bee driven on the first hours of onset, when the hematoma is still growing. Intervention with ultra-early hemostatic therapy might arrest ongoing bleeding. Even if recombinant activated factor VII administered within 4 h of symptom onset did not improve outcome in a recent phase 3 trial, it reduced hematoma growth. Therefore, the rational for ultra-early hemostatic therapy it is still valid and another trial on hemostatic treatment is warranted.