[Treatment options in traumatic epidural hematomas]

Traumatic extradural hematoma in enugu, Nigeria

Aim:

Acute traumatic extradural hematoma (EDH) is life threatening and requires prompt intervention. This is a study of incidence and outcome of consecutive patients with EDH managed in Enugu, Nigeria against a background of delayed referral.

Materials and Methods:

We retrospectively examined all consecutive trauma cases managed between 2003 and 2009 and analyzed patients with acute traumatic extradural hematoma in isolation or in combination with other intra cranial lesions. Age, sex, cause of injury, time of presentation, Glasgow Coma Score (GCS), pupil reactivity, treatment and clinical outcomes were determined.

Results:

Of 817 head injuries, 69 (8.4%) had EDH, a mean of 9.9 patients per year. Males were 57 (83%) and females 12 (17%). Peak age incidences were the second and third decades of life, with a mean age of 30.2 years. Causes were road traffic accidents (57%), assault (22%) and falls (9%). Twenty-six (38%) patients presented within 24 h of injury and only one patient presented within 4 h. The average time lag before presentation was 94.2 h. At presentation 39% had GCS of 13-15, 27% had 9-12 and 34% had 3-8. The most common location of hematoma was temporal (27.5%). Forty (59%) patients had surgery while 14 (20%) were managed conservatively. Ten patients (14.5%) died and of these 70% had GCS <8 and 60% had a seizure.

Conclusion:

We conclude that early appropriate treatment of EDH results in good high quality survival (Glasgow Outcome Score 4 or 5). Low GCS should not be an absolute contraindication for surgery. Seizure prophylaxis should be considered in patients with GCS <8.

Delayed postoperative extradural hematoma

Postcraniotomy complications include various types of intracranial hematomas and systemic complications like cardiac and renal failure. This is a report of a patient who underwent a reexploration of a previous craniotomy and then went into status epilepticus, which was controlled, but the patient developed acute renal failure and then a delayed extradural hematoma.

Endovascular treatment of incoercible epistaxis and epidural cerebral hematoma. A case report

SUMMARY

A young patient with a facial trauma after a road accident was admitted to our department with incoercible epistaxis. A CT scan showed a right pterional acute epidural hematoma (EDH). Angiography demonstrated multiple sources of bleeding of the right sphenopalatine arteries, cause of the epistaxis, and an intracranial leakage of the right middle meningeal artery, responsible for the EDH. The patient immediately underwent embolization of the right internal maxillary artery and right middle meningeal artery. The procedure stopped the epistaxis and no further enlargement of the EDH was observed, avoiding its surgical treatment. Endovascular surgery may be an effective procedure to stop the arterial meningeal bleeding sustaining acute EDH and may be a useful tool in the management of special cases of post traumatic EDH.