Intracranial Haemorrhage in Haemophilia.

Intracranial bleeding has long been regarded as particularly lethal in haemophilia and is currently the most common cause of death among haemophiliacs in Finland (Ikkala, 1960), in Sweden (Blomback, 1962), and in New South Wales (Kerr, 1963). It appears that intracranial haemorrhage has not been influenced by modem therapy to the same extent as post-operative or traumatic bleeding at other sites, which were formerly the most common causes of death (Birch, 1937). This trend is illustrated in Table I which shows the distribution of causes of death among 106 haemophiliacs in New South Wales between 1900 and 1962. Even allowing for incomplete ascertainment of deaths during the earlier years of this century, the threefold increase in fatal intracranial bleeding since 1940 contrasts with reduced mortality from most other types of haemorrhage during the same period.