Comparisons of Radiological and Clinical Characteristics between Traumatic and Non-traumatic Subdural Hematoma Patients.

Objective: Subdural hematoma (SDH) primarily occurs in elderly patients. While most patients have good prognosis, some do not. Hematoma recurrence is one of the factors influencing prognosis. Moreover, some characteristic radiological factors may increase the recurrence rate. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the presence of trauma influenced radiological characteristics and hematoma recurrence in SDH patients treated with burr hole trephination.

Methods: From January 2012 to December 2014, we selected 83 patients diagnosed with unilateral SDH using computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging. We divided the patients into 2 groups based on the presence of trauma. We compared the 2 groups with multiple parameters, such as patient factors, radiological characteristics, and recurrence rate.

Results: Patients who had a prolonged international normalized ratio (INR) were significantly more common in the non-traumatic SDH group (22.2%:55.2%, =0.002). There was no statistical difference in radiological parameters between the 2 groups. The recurrence rate was marginally higher in the non-traumatic SDH group (14.8%:17.2%, =0.502), but this difference was not statistically significant.

Conclusion: There were no statistically significant differences in the radiological findings, including brain atrophy, hematoma density, thickness of hematoma, and degree of midline shifting between the 2 groups. The associated trauma history may not influence recurrence. Anticoagulants medication influence INR prolongation, and commonly shown in non-traumatic group, but not statistically. INR prolongation was statistically more common in non-traumatic SDH patients than in traumatic SDH patients. INR prolongation is only a different characteristic between 2 groups.