Epidemiological investigation of 264 sporadic cases of ruptured cerebral aneurysm at a single institution in southwest China

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the epidemiology of sporadic ruptured cerebral aneurysm in the Chinese population. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 264 consecutive Chinese patients admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University of Guizhou Province in Southwest China between December 2012 and March 2015 for spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage due to a ruptured cerebral artery aneurysm. RESULTS: The study population comprised 171 females and 93 males with a median age of 50 (range 5–76) years. The female to male ratio was 1.84:1. For both males and females, aneurysm rupture was most common in the 40–49-year age group (34.5%). Most of the ruptured aneurysms were in the size range of 2–5 mm (47.2%), followed by 5–10 mm (43.8%). Ruptured aneurysms occurred most often in the posterior communicating artery (36.6%) or the anterior communicating artery (25.7%). There were more cases of anterior communicating artery aneurysm on the left side (53 [Left side]/16 [Right side]=3.31, P>0.001) and slightly more cases of posterior communicating artery aneurysm on the right side (54 [Right side]/44[Left side]=1.23, P<0.05). CONCLUSION: This study provides valuable information on the epidemiology of ruptured cerebral aneurysm in the Chinese population.