We aim to describe our positive findings in the first cohort of patients to undergo a novel neuroendoscopic technique for intracerebral haemorrhage evacuation developed at our centre called Stereotactic Intra-Cerebral Haemorrhage Underwater Blood Aspiration (SCUBA).

Spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) is associated with high rates of mortality. Numerous prognostic scoring systems exist however the original ICH Score remains most widely used. Phase 3 of the anticipated MISTIE trial demonstrated no overall benefit to stereotactic catheter drainage. In subgroup analysis, favourable outcomes were noted in 57% of patients reaching the surgical goal of ≤15mL end-of-treatment volume. SCUBA has previously been reported to achieve high hematoma evacuation efficacy. We hypothesize that patients undergoing SCUBA will have lower 30-day mortality than predicted by the ICH Score.

100 consecutive supratentorial non-traumatic spontaneous ICH underwent SCUBA at a dedicated ICH centre between December 2015 – October 2018. Patient eligibility included: age ≥18, premorbid mRS ≤3, NIHSS ≥6 and hematoma volume ≥15mL. Patients were studied prospectively with 30-day mortality and 180-day disability as primary outcomes. Observed 30-day mortality was compared with the expected mortality given the patients’ calculated pre-operative ICH Score.