Clinical Characteristics and Prognoses of Chronic Subdural Hematoma Patients with and without Head Trauma: A Retrospective Comparative Study

World Neurosurg. 2024 Feb:182:e837-e846. doi: 10.1016/j.wneu.2023.12.055. Epub 2023 Dec 13.

Abstract

Objective: Head trauma is considered as the main cause of chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH). However, many patients develop CSDH with no identified cause. Herein, we conduct a comparative study to investigate the differences in clinical characteristics and surgical outcomes of CSDH patients with and without a history of head trauma.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed CSDH patients who underwent surgical treatment in our hospital between January 2013 and December 2021. Patients were categorized into a with head trauma (WHT) group and a without head trauma (WOHT) group for comparative analysis.

Results: A total of 219 patients were included, 119 (54.3%) cases in the WHT group and 100 (45.7%) cases in the WOHT group. More cancer patients were found in the WOHT group than in the WHT group (P = 0.045). Both at discharge and 6-month follow-up, patients in the WOHT group achieved better clinical outcomes than the WHT group cases (P = 0.025 and 0.034, respectively). Furthermore, ordered multiclass logistic regression analyses indicated that a history of head trauma (odds ratio 2.151, 95% confidence interval 1.052-4.386; P = 0.036) was a risk factor significantly related to the unfavorable outcomes at 6-month follow-ups of CSDH. However, we did not find significant differences between the 2 groups in clinical manifestations, radiological characteristics, postoperative complications, mortality, and recurrence rates.

Conclusions: CSDH patients with a history of head trauma may be more susceptible to unfavorable outcomes; thus, they should be carefully evaluated and given more attention during hospitalization and after discharge.

Keywords: Chronic subdural hematoma; Clinical outcomes; Head trauma; Twist drill craniotomy.

MeSH terms

  • Craniocerebral Trauma* / complications
  • Craniocerebral Trauma* / surgery
  • Craniotomy / adverse effects
  • Drainage / adverse effects
  • Hematoma, Subdural, Chronic* / diagnostic imaging
  • Hematoma, Subdural, Chronic* / etiology
  • Hematoma, Subdural, Chronic* / surgery
  • Humans
  • Prognosis
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Treatment Outcome