Could a traumatic epidural hematoma on early computed tomography tell us about its future development? A multi-center retrospective study in China.

Our aim for this study was to quantitatively develop an early epidural hematoma (EDH) natural evolutionary curve and assess association of the most common radiological signs of initially nonsurgical supratentorial EDHs on early computed tomography (CT), in addition to their CT time for EDH enlargement. We retrospectively reviewed pertinent data of supratentorial EDH cases with CT ≤ 6 h postinjury (1997-2013) in three medical institutions in Shanghai. Cases involved were divided into six groups according to their initial CT time postinjury (≤ 1, 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, and 5-6 h for groups 1 through 6, respectively).