Early prediction of aphasia outcome in left basal ganglia hemorrhage

Objectives - The independent predictors of aphasia outcome for patients with left basal ganglia hemorrhage were evaluated. Patients and methods - We included 140 patients of 1036 patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage admitted to our hospital from January 1993 through December 1997. Aphasia was assessed using the aphasia scale of the Scandinavian stroke scale. Univariate and step-wise logistic regression analyses were performed to assess the relationships between the initial aphasia score, age, gender, blood volume, locations of hematoma and aphasia outcome. Results - Step-wise logistic regression analysis revealed that the following two factors were independently associated with the final aphasia outcome: initial aphasia score (P < 0.0001) and location of hematoma involving the posterior limb of the internal capsule (P = 0.004). Conclusions - A particularly high likelihood of poor aphasia outcomes of patients with left basal ganglia hemorrhage are predicted in those who have poor initial aphasia score and whose brain computed tomography shows the hematoma involves the posterior limb of the internal capsule.