Extradural and subdural hematomas

1970 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 632-635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenneth G. Jamieson

✓ The pattern of head injuries due to traffic accidents has changed markedly in Australia in the period since 1935. A review of autopsy cases of extradural and acute subdural hematomas shows a startling shift toward inoperable lesions. The author points out that accident prevention must now be considered the chief means of reversing man's trend toward self-destruction on the highway.

1993 ◽  
Vol 78 (1) ◽  
pp. 126-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshihiko Kuroiwa ◽  
Harushi Tanabe ◽  
Hiroyuki Takatsuka ◽  
Motohiro Arai ◽  
Nobuyoshi Sakai ◽  
...  

✓ The rapid spontaneous resolution of two traumatic acute hematomas, one extradural and one subdural, is reported in a 17-year-old young man. The authors believe that this is the first report of simultaneous resolution of both types of hematoma.


1983 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 242-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryce Weir ◽  
Philip Gordon

✓ Plasminogen, alpha2-antiplasmin, fibrinogen, fibrin degradation products (FDP's), and hemoglobin were measured in the supernatant fluid of 25 chronic subdural hematomas and five chronic subdural hygromas. The 30 patients underwent pre- and postoperative computerized tomography. The hematomas were characterized by low fibrinogen and high fibrin degradation product concentrations. The hemoglobin content varied directly with the alpha2-antiplasmin, and inversely with the plasminogen. Four patients underwent reoperation for recurrences. The initial fluid from these cases was characterized by relatively high plasminogen and low alpha2-antiplasmin. The hygromas had no hemoglobin, and low fibrinogen, high FDP's, low alpha2-antiplasmin, and variable plasminogen levels. It is possible that those cases having the greatest capacity to produce plasmin (high plasminogen and low alpha2-antiplasmin) can produce more FDP's which in turn causes more rebleeding and an increased risk of reaccumulation of chronic subdural hematomas.


1979 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fong Y. Tsai ◽  
James E. Huprich ◽  
Hervey D. Segall ◽  
James S. Teal

✓ The authors review 29 cases of surgically-proven isodense subdural hematomas examined by non-contrast and contrast-enhanced computerized tomography scans. Three types of isodense collections were noted: homogeneous isodense collections, mixed-density collections, and gravitational layering within subdural collections. Contrast enhancement within the cerebral cortex, cortical vessels, and subdural membranes led to the correct diagnosis in each case. Contrast-enhanced scans are essential for the evaluation of isodense subdural hematomas.


1982 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Henry A. Shenkin

✓ In a consecutive series of 39 cases of acute subdural hematoma (SDH), encountered since computerized tomography diagnosis became available, 61.5% were found to be the result of bleeding from a small cortical artery, 25.6% were of venous origin, 7.7% resulted from cerebral contusions, and 5% were acute bleeds into chronic subdural hematomas. Craniotomy was performed promptly on admission, but there was no difference in survival (overall 51.3%) between patients with arterial and venous bleeds. The only apparent factor affecting survival in this series was the preoperative neurological status: 67% of patients who were decerebrate and had fixed pupils prior to operation died. Of patients with less severe neurological dysfunction, only 20% failed to survive.


1979 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 507-509 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard N. W. Wohns ◽  
Allen R. Wyler

✓ We are reporting a retrospective study of 62 patients whose head injury was sufficiently severe to cause a high probability of posttraumatic epilepsy. Of 50 patients treated with phenytoin, 10% developed epilepsy of late onset. Twelve patients not treated with phenytoin but who had head injuries of equal magnitude had a 50% incidence of epilepsy. These data from a highly selected group of patients with severe head injuries confirm the bias that treatment with phenytoin decreases the incidence of posttraumatic epilepsy.


2005 ◽  
Vol 102 (6) ◽  
pp. 1130-1132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessio Albanese ◽  
Antonio Tuttolomondo ◽  
Carmelo Anile ◽  
Giovanni Sabatino ◽  
Angelo Pompucci ◽  
...  

✓ Chronic subdural hematomas (SDHs) generally occur in elderly patients. Its pathogenesis is usually related to head trauma with tearing and rupture of the bridging veins, although in some cases a history of trauma is not recognizable. There are many reports regarding the association between spontaneous chronic SDHs and an alteration in coagulative parameters. A coagulative disorder should be suspected when an unexplained hemorrhage occurs, especially in a young patient. The authors report on three young men with a deficiency in coagulation factor XIII (FXIII) who underwent surgery for chronic SDHs. The role of FXIII in the pathogenesis of chronic SDH is emphasized. In patients with unexplained chronic SDH all coagulation parameters and factors should be screened to identify an eventual coagulative disorder.


1974 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 347-350 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheldon R. Hurwitz ◽  
Samuel E. Halpern ◽  
George Leopold

✓ Eighteen patients with chronic subdural hematomas were studied by both brain scans and echoencephalography. All cases were verified by cerebral angiography. Brain scanning was accurate in predicting hematomas in 93% of the cases, and echoencephalography in 44%. When hematomas were bilateral or when frontal clots caused no shift in the diencephalic midline, the routine echoencephalogram often was negative. The two procedures are complementary, and serial studies may be helpful in the study of changing clinical situations.


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nobuhiko Aoki ◽  
Hiroshi Mizutani ◽  
Hideaki Masuzawa

✓ The authors present the cases of three infants with bilateral chronic subdural hematomas (SDH's) (effusions). Communication between the hematoma cavities was confirmed by an injection of air or metrizamide into one of the cavities. In all three cases, both SDH's (effusions) were successfully treated by placement of a unilateral subdural-peritoneal shunt without any untoward consequences. It is stressed that the cavities of bilateral chronic SDH's (effusions) may communicate, and that in such cases unilateral subdural-peritoneal shunting is sufficient to eradicate the SDH's on both sides. In addition, subdural fluid, even with a high protein concentration, may be successfully eliminated by an internal shunt using a shunt tube with a large internal caliber and a low-pressure valve.


2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 256-262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Nakaguchi ◽  
Takeo Tanishima ◽  
Norio Yoshimasu

Object. Factors affecting the postoperative recurrence of chronic subdural hematomas (CSDHs) have not been sufficiently investigated. The authors have attempted to determine features of CSDHs that are associated with a high or low recurrence rate on the basis of the natural history of these lesions and their intracranial extension. Methods. One hundred six patients (82 men and 24 women) harboring 126 CSDHs who were treated at Tokyo Kosei Nenkin Hospital between January 1989 and April 1998 were studied. Types of CSDHs were classified according to hematoma density and internal architecture, and the intracranial extension of the hematomas were investigated. The postoperative recurrence rate was calculated for each factor. Based on the internal architecture and density of each hematoma, the CSDHs were classified into four types, including homogeneous, laminar, separated, and trabecular types. The recurrence rate associated with the separated type was high, whereas that associated with the trabecular type was low. Chronic subdural hematomas are believed to develop initially as the homogeneous type, after which they sometimes progress to the laminar type. A mature CSDH is represented by the separated stage and the hematoma eventually passes through the trabecular stage during absorption. Based on the intracranial extension of each hematoma, CSDHs were classified into three types, including convexity, cranial base, and interhemispheric types. The recurrence rate of cranial base CSDHs was high and that of convexity CSDHs was low. Conclusions. Classification of CSDHs according to the internal architecture and intracranial extension may be useful for predicting the risk of postoperative recurrence.


1997 ◽  
Vol 86 (3) ◽  
pp. 433-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Zwimpfer ◽  
Jennifer Brown ◽  
Irene Sullivan ◽  
Richard J. Moulton

✓ This prospective review of adult patients with head injuries examines the incidence of head injuries due to falls caused by seizures, the incidence and severity of intracranial hematomas, and the morbidity and mortality rates in this patient population. A head injury was attributed to a fall caused by a seizure if the seizure was witnessed to have caused the fall, or the patient had a known seizure history, appeared postictal or was found convulsing after the fall, and no other cause for the fall was evident. A total of 1760 adult head-injured patients were consecutively admitted to the authors' service between 1986 and 1993. Five hundred eighty-two head injuries (33.1%) were due to falls and 22 (3.8%) of these were caused by seizures. Based on the prevalence rates for epilepsy in the general population of 0.5 to 2%, these results indicate that epileptics are several times more likely to suffer a head injury due to a fall. Mass lesions were found in 20 (90.9%) of these 22 patients and the remaining two patients suffered mild diffuse head injuries. There was a high incidence of extraaxial mass lesions: 17 (85%) of the 20 intracranial hematomas were either epidural (five cases) or acute subdural (12 cases) hematomas. Eighteen (81.8%) of the 22 patients required evacuation of a hematoma. Both the incidence of intracranial hematomas (90.9% vs. 39.8%; p < 0.001, chi-square analysis) and the rate of hematoma evacuation (81.8% vs. 32.3%; p < 0.001) was significantly greater in patients injured in falls due to seizures (22 cases) than in the group injured in falls from all other causes (560 cases). The higher incidence of hematomas and the need for evacuation were not explained by differences in age, severity of head injury, or incidence of alcohol intoxication. Despite the greater incidence of mass lesions and the need for operative treatment in patients injured because of seizures, their mortality rate was similar to that of patients injured in falls from other causes. On the basis of their review of patients admitted to a neurosurgical center with complaints of head injury, the authors conclude that patients with head injuries due to a fall caused by a seizure should undergo computerized tomography scanning early in their management. Until a mass lesion has been excluded, any decrease in level of consciousness or focal neurological deficit should not be attributed to the seizure itself.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document