This pilot study aimed to establish if the Short Form 36 (SF-36) provides clinically relevant information about patient outcome which is not detected using the Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) A retrospective postal questionnaire survey of all patients operated on for subarachnoid haemorrhage at the Leeds General Infirmary between March 1991 and December 1992 of perceived health status was undertaken 6-18 months following surgery. Of the respondents with a GOS score of Good the SF-36 score was reduced in each domain. The most notable score reduction was in the role-function physical domain where the mean score was 48% compared with a population norm of 88%. It was concluded that the SF-36 has a role in the evaluation of patients following surgery for SAH and may have a place in their routine assessment. Further work in a larger group of patients is required.