Fatal bihemispheric intracerebral hemorrhage after burrhole evacuation of chronic subdural hematoma in a bone marrow-transplanted patient: case report and review of the literature

Intraparenchymal Hemorrhage After Evacuation of Chronic Subdural Hematoma: A Case Series and Literature Review

BACKGROUND

Intraparenchymal hemorrhage (IPH), possibly due to reperfusion, after evacuation of a cranial chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH) is a known phenomenon. However, it is sparingly reported and not well understood.

METHODS

An illustrative case series is presented. A literature review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis guidelines to identify all previously reported cases.

RESULTS

A total of 48 cases were analyzed. Males were 85.4% of the population, and the mean age was 67.5 years. Pre-existing head trauma and hypertension were the most common comorbidities. Headache was a presenting symptom in 60.4% of cases. Midline shift was explicitly stated in 54.2% of cases. Initial burr hole alone was performed 75.0% of the time, whereas craniotomy alone was performed in 16.7% of cases. Any initial craniotomy patients were associated with a modified Rankin Scale score of 5 (P = 0.03). The IPH was located in the cerebral hemisphere in 62.5% of cases and more likely to occur ipsilateral to a unilateral cSDH (P = 0.02). The IPH occurred a mean 1.9 days after surgery, and 50.0% occurred within 24 hours of initial intervention. The median modified Rankin Scale at discharge was 2. The mortality rate was 25%. Lastly, a multifactorial reperfusion pathophysiology was proposed.

CONCLUSION

IPH after cSDH evacuation is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Prompt recognition, regulating blood pressure, controlling the amount and rate of extra-axial fluid drained, and a meticulous surgical technique are critical to optimize the care of patients with cSDH and reduce the rate of postoperative IPH.

Combined epidural and intracerebral hematomas after evacuation of bilateral chronic subdural hematoma

Bleeding after surgery for chronic subdural hematoma far from the operative site is a rare phenomenon with possibly serious consequences. We report a case of combined epidural and intracerebral hemorrhage immediately after evacuation of bilateral chronic subdural hematoma. The epidural hematoma was evacuated by emergency craniotomy, but the deep parenchymal hematoma was treated conservatively. The patient recovered progressively with a good outcome. Approximately 30 cases of chronic subdural hematomas complicated by intracerebral hematoma were previously reported, but only seven cases of epidural hematoma. These complications could be avoided if slow, gradual decompression is used during surgery. Clinicians should suspect its occurrence without delay when a postoperative neurological deterioration is demonstrated. Possible mechanisms are discussed.

Update on intracerebral haemorrhage

Intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) is a common and serious disease. About 1 to 2 out of 10 patients with stroke have an ICH. The mortality of ICH is higher than that of ischaemic stroke. Only 31% are functionally independent at 3 months. Only 38% of the patients survive the 1(st) year. The cost of ICH is high. Hypertension is the major risk factor, increasing the risk of ICH about 4x. Up to half of hypertensive patients who suffer a ICH are either unaware of their hypertension, non-compliant with the medication or fail to control periodically their blood pressure levels Microbleeds and white matter changes are MRI markers of the risk of ICH. ICH has 3 main pathophysiological phases: arterial rupture and haematoma formation, haematoma enlargement and peri-haematoma oedema. Up to 40% of the haematomas grow in the first hours post-rupture. ICH growth is associated with early clinical deterioration. Two randomised clinical trials (RCTs) demonstrated that treatment with rFVIIa limited haematoma growth and improved outcome, but was associated with a increase in thromboembolic complications. Ventricular drainage with thrombolytics might improve outcome for patients with intraventricular bleeding. A large RCT and meta-analysis failed to show a benefit of surgery over conservative treatment in acute ICH.