ICH
Abbreviation with 3 meanings
| Stands for | Intracerebral hemorrhage |
|---|---|
| Meanings | 3 |
| Categories | Medical |
ICH has three meanings. The most common are Intracerebral hemorrhage (neurology) and International Council for Harmonisation (medical research); it can also stand for Intracranial hemorrhage.
Meanings of ICH at a glance
| # | ICH stands for | Context |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Intracerebral hemorrhage | Medical › Neurology |
| 2 | International Council for Harmonisation | Medical › Medical Research |
| 3 | Intracranial hemorrhage | Medical › Neurology |
1. Intracerebral hemorrhage
Medical · Neurology Abbreviations
Bleeding directly into brain tissue, accounting for about 10 to 15 percent of strokes and carrying high mortality. Chronic hypertension causes most deep bleeds, while cerebral amyloid angiopathy causes many lobar bleeds in older adults; anticoagulants and vascular malformations are other causes.
Example: Noncontrast CT: 32 mL left basal ganglia ICH with intraventricular extension; ICH score 3.
Acute management focuses on lowering systolic blood pressure, reversing anticoagulants and preventing hematoma growth. The ICH score, published in 2001, combines Glasgow Coma Scale, hemorrhage volume, intraventricular extension, location and age to estimate 30-day mortality. In pharmaceutical regulation ICH means the International Council for Harmonisation, an unrelated body.
2. International Council for Harmonisation
Medical · Medical Research Abbreviations
Organization bringing together drug regulators and industry to develop harmonized technical guidelines on the quality, safety and efficacy of medicines, so that one set of studies can support approval in many countries. Its guidelines are labeled by series and number, such as E6 for Good Clinical Practice and E2A for expedited safety reporting.
Example: Stability data generated per ICH Q1A support filings in the US, EU and Japan.
Founded in 1990 by regulators and industry from the US, Europe and Japan as the International Conference on Harmonisation, it was restructured as a council with broader membership in 2015. Guidelines fall into Quality (Q), Safety (S), Efficacy (E) and Multidisciplinary (M) series. In neurology ICH means intracerebral or intracranial hemorrhage.
3. Intracranial hemorrhage
Medical · Neurology Abbreviations
Umbrella term for any bleeding inside the skull, covering epidural, subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhage as well as bleeding into the brain itself or its ventricles. Emergency and radiology reports use it when bleeding is present before the exact compartment is specified.
Example: Fall on apixaban with headache; CT head negative for ICH.
Because ICH is used for both intracranial (any location) and intracerebral (within brain tissue) bleeding, the distinction matters for prognosis and treatment, and many clinicians spell out the location. Anticoagulated patients with head trauma usually get CT even after minor injuries because of their higher bleeding risk. Reversal agents include prothrombin complex concentrate, idarucizumab and andexanet alfa, depending on the drug.
Related abbreviations
More neurology abbreviations
- HA – Headache
- HD – Huntington's disease
- HIE – Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
- HINTS – Head Impulse, Nystagmus, Test of Skew
- ICP – Intracranial pressure
- IIH – Idiopathic intracranial hypertension
- IVH – Intraventricular hemorrhage
- JME – Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy
See all 131 neurology abbreviations →
More medical research abbreviations
- HTA – Health technology assessment
- IB – Investigator's brochure
- ICER – Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio
- ICF – Informed consent form
- IDE – Investigational device exemption
- IEC – Independent ethics committee
- IIT – Investigator-initiated trial
- IQR – Interquartile range
See all 94 medical research abbreviations →
This entry is for general education and is not medical advice. Abbreviation use varies between institutions; always confirm in context.