An anonymous survey of 11 multiple-choice questions about management ofaneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) patients with antiplatelet use before the initial hemorrhage was distributed to the international panel of attendees of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (EANS) annual meeting in Venice, Italy at 1-5 October 2017.

A total of 258 (54%) completed surveys were returned. In about 80%, the departments of neurosurgery and neurology were responsible for acute management of aSAH patients, whereas in 15% the intensive care unit. Department guidelines were present in 32%. In 65%, the responders always stop the antiplatelet agent at admission and in 4.3% are thrombocytes always transfused. When a guideline is present, the neurospecialists consider thrombocyte transfusion more often (83% vs. 65% p=0.02).

The survey among mainly European neurosurgeons show that there is a significant variability in the management of aSAH patients who have been using antiplatelets before the initial hemorrhage. These findings emphasize the importance of the development of evidence-based guidelines for management of patients with aSAH and antiplatelet use before the initial hemorrhage ¹⁾.