Microalbuminuria is a prognostic predictor in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Objective: To determine the prevalence and the prognostic significance of microalbuminuria in patients after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

Design: Prospective and observational clinical study.

Setting: Multidisciplinary intensive care unit.

Patients: Fifty-one consecutive patients who underwent aneurysm clipping or endovascular surgery after SAH; 8 patients who underwent surgical clipping for unruptured intracerebral aneurysm served as control.

Intervention: None.

Measurements And Results: General clinical and neurological data were recorded on admission. Urine was collected preoperatively and daily for up to 7 days postoperatively for measuring the urinary microalbumin/creatinine ratio. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score was also determined on admission and daily for up to 7 days after operation. Neurological outcome was assessed using the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) at 3 months after stroke. The prevalence rates of microalbuminuria were 74.5% in SAH and 37.5% in the control. Among the 51 patients, 25 had unfavorable neurological outcome (GOS 1-3). The areas under the receiver operator characteristic curves showed that the highest urinary microalbumin/creatinine ratio and the lowest GCS score during the first 8 days were the significant predictors of unfavorable neurological outcome. The threshold value, sensitivity, specificity, and likelihood ratio for the highest urinary microalbumin/creatinine ratio were 200 mg/g, 60% [95% confidence interval (CI) 41-79], 96% (95% CI 88-100), and 15.6 (95% CI 9.1-26.7), respectively.

Conclusions: This study confirms a high prevalence of microalbuminuria in the SAH patients, and it suggests that the highest urinary microalbumin/creatinine ratio > 200 mg/g during the first 8 days is a significant predictor of unfavorable neurological outcome.