Leukocytosis and subarachnoid hemorrhage.

We present a study of the white blood cell count at time of admission in patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage. A nearly normal white blood cell count has little correlation with either the clinical grade at time of admission, or with the patient's ultimate outcome. A white blood cell count exceeding 20,000, however, is associated with poor clinical grade on admission and with a 50% mortality.