Background To study the clinical condition of poor-grade aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) patients alive at 3 years after neurointensive care. Methods Of the 769 consecutive aSAH patients from a defined population (2005–2015), 269 (35%) were in poor condition on admission: 145 (54%) with H&H 4 and 124 (46%) with H&H 5. Their clinical lifelines were re-constructed from the Kuopio Intracranial Aneurysm Database and Finnish nationwide registries. Of the 269 patients, 155 (58%) were alive at 14 days, 125 (46%) at 12 months, and 120 (45%) at 3 years. Results The 120 H&H 4–5 patients alive at 3 years form the final study population. On admission, 73% had H&H 4 but only 27% H&H 5, 59% intracerebral hematoma (ICH; median 22 cm3), and 26% intraventricular blood clot (IVH). The outcome was favorable (mRS 0–1) in 45% (54 patients: ICH 44%; IVH clot 31%; shunt 46%), moderate (mRS 2–3) in 30% (36 patients: ICH 64%; IVH clot 19%; shunt 42%), and unfavorable (mRS 4–5) in 25% (30 patients: ICH 80%; IVH clot 23%; shunt 50%). A total of 46% carried a ventriculoperitoneal shunt. ICH volume was a significant predictor of mRS at 3 years. Conclusions Of poor-grade aSAH patients, 45% were alive at 3 years, even 27% of those extending to pain (H&H 5). Of the survivors, 75% were at least in moderate condition, while only 2.6% ended in hospice care. Consequently, we propose non-selected admission to neurointensive care (1) for a possibility of moderate outcome, and (2), in case of brain death, possibly improved organ donation rates.

Purpose Our review of acute brain insult articles indicated that the patients’ individual (i) timeline panels with the defined time points since the emergency call and (ii) serial brain CT/MRI slice panels through the neurointensive care until death or final brain tissue outcome at 12 months or later are not presented. Methods We retrospectively constructed such panels for the 45 aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) patients with a secondary decompressive craniectomy (DC) after the acute admission to neurointensive care at Kuopio University Hospital (KUH) from a defined population from 2005 to 2018. The patients were indicated by numbers (1.–45.) in the pseudonymized panels, tables, results, and discussion. The timelines contained up to ten defined time points on a logarithmic time axis until death ($$n=25$$ n = 25 ; 56%) or 3 years ($$n=20$$ n = 20 ; 44%). The brain CT/MRI panels contained a representative slice from the following time points: SAH diagnosis, after aneurysm closure, after DC, at about 12 months (20 survivors). Results The timelines indicated re-bleeds and allowed to compare the times elapsed between any two time points, in terms of workflow swiftness. The serial CT/MRI slices illustrated the presence and course of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), perihematomal edema, intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), hydrocephalus, delayed brain injury, and, in the 20 (44%) survivors, the brain tissue outcome. Conclusions The pseudonymized timeline panels and serial brain imaging panels, indicating the patients by numbers, allowed the presentation and comparison of individual clinical courses. An obvious application would be the quality control in acute or elective medicine for timely and equal access to clinical care.