Intracerebral hemorrhage due to developmental venous anomalies

Developmental venous anomalies (DVA) and cavernous malformations (CM) are a common form of mixed vascular malformation. The relationship between DVA, CM and hemorrhage is complicated. It is important to differentiate hemorrhagic CM and hemorrhagic DVA. A retrospective review of all patients with acute spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhages (ICH) between 1 May 2008 and 1 May 2013 was performed. ICH due to DVA or CM were identified and compared for demographic features, clinical symptoms, neurological deficits, and radiological findings. A total of 1706 patients with acute spontaneous ICH were admitted to our hospital during the study period. Among these, 10 (0.59%) were caused by DVA and 42 (2.47%) were caused by CM. No significant differences were found in age (p = 0.252) or sex ratio (p = 1.000) between the two groups. Compared with CM-induced ICH, DVA-induced ICH were characterized by cerebellar predominance (p = 0.000) and less severe neurological deficits (p = 0.008). Infratentorial hemorrhagic DVA are characterized by cerebellar predominance and benign clinical course. Infratentorial hemorrhagic CM are mainly located in the brainstem. DVA should be given suspected rather than CM when considering the etiology of a cerebellar hemorrhage, especially in young adults.