Perioperative Management of Spontaneous Intracranial Hemorrhage in a Patient With Hemophilia A in a Resource Limited Country

• Published in: Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) CA), 2023-08, Vol.15 (8), p.e43485
• Main Authors: Chopra, Puneet, Singh, Manraj, Singh, Adityabikram, Masi, Athena, Yurkofsky, Judith, Zaita, Brittany, Kaur, Gurjinder
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Case reports; Edema; Head injuries; Hematology; Hemoglobin; Hemophilia; Hemorrhage; Magnetic resonance imaging; Mortality; Neurosurgery; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Patients; Public Health
• ISSN: 2168-8184; 2168-8184
• DOI: 10.7759/cureus.43485

Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is a serious complication of hemophilia A with high morbidity and mortality. The management of such cases is complicated by nonspecific and often delayed presentation, increased frequency of rebleeding, low awareness regarding clotting factor replacement, and debate regarding the efficacy of surgical interventions. We report a case of an 18-year-old male patient with hemophilia A, who first presented to the emergency department in India in a comatose state. Neuroimaging revealed subdural hematoma with midline shift and uncal herniation. The patient was successfully managed with perioperative cryoprecipitate and factor VIII replacement, tiered intracranial pressure lowering strategies, and early decompressive craniectomy with clot evacuation. In India, there are no standardized guidelines for screening and routine care for hereditary diseases like hemophilia. In a resource-deficient country, management was complicated by the limited availability of factor VIII in the emergent setting, as well as the inability to obtain serial factor levels in the postoperative period. We hope that this article helps to guide the management of ICH and hemophilia in resource-limited countries.