In-Vitro Study of Urokinase Thrombolysis Following Stereotactic Aspiration of Intracerebral Hematoma

OBJECTIVE: A consensus regarding the ideal regimen for urokinase (UK) thrombolysis subsequent to stereotactic spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage aspiration has yet to be established. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of UK thrombolysis relative to when the regimen is changed. METHODS: Venous blood from 30 heathy volunteers was obtained for this in-vitro study. Various concentrations of UK solution were added to microcentrifuge tubes containing the clotted blood. The efficacy of UK thrombolysis was identified by checking the weight of lysed hematoma following various time intervals with different concentrations of UK solution. Group one, the “3×4” group involved four administrations every 3 hours over 12 hours, and group two, the “6×2” group involved two administrations every 6 hours over 12 hours. RESULTS: More hematoma was lysed in the 3×4 group than the 6×2 group across all concentration levels (however, the differences were only significant between groups at the 500 and 1000 IU concentration levels, p<0.05). There were no significant differences of lysed hematoma among the various UK solution concentrations within groups. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that frequent administrations of UK thrombolysis may result in a greater degree of lysed hematoma in comparison to a higher concentration of UK.