Meta-analysis of stereotactic hematoma removal and craniotomy hematoma removal in the treatment of hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage in the elderly

Background: A large number of clinical studies suggested that surgery might be a better choice than conservative treatment for treating hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage in the middle-aged and elderly. Stereotactic puncture can reduce the mass effect caused by hematoma, reduce the intervention of body homeostasis, reduce brain tissue damage, and improve the prognosis of patients with cerebral hemorrhage. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate the efficacy of stereotactic puncture and craniotomy in elderly patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage.Methods: A search strategy was designed to search in databases, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, CNKI, Wanfang database and relevant references. Literature on the efficacy and safety of different surgical methods for hypertensive cerebral hemorrhage in the middle-aged and elderly were retrieved. The search time was until August 17, 2022. Keywords included "hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage," "stereotactic hematoma removal," "craniotomy." After the literature search, 2 researchers independently conducted literature screening, quality evaluation of included trials and data extraction. RevMan5.4 software was used to perform a Meta-analysis on the operation time, hospital stay, postoperative Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, postoperative daily activity ability, postoperative complications and neurological prognosis scores included in the included studies.Results: A total of 1988 samples were included in 9 studies. 1022 patients underwent stereotactic hematoma removal, and 968 patients underwent craniotomy hematoma removal. The orientation group had more advantages in the length of hospital stay, postoperative disability, pulmonary infection, intracranial infection and digestive tract ulcer, and the difference was statistically significant (P < .05). In addition, the length of stay (I-2= 83%) of the included articles had good homogeneity (I-2< 50%), and there was no significant difference between the 2 groups in operation time, postoperative GCS score, postoperative daily activity ability, and neurological prognosis score (P > .05).Conclusion: The meta-analysis indicate that compared to craniotomy for hematoma removal, stereotactic hematoma removal can reduce the postoperative disability rate, intracranial infection rate, lung infection rate, and digestive tract ulcer rate in middle-aged and elderly patients with hypertensive intracerebral hemorrhage.