Surgical Closed Suction Drain Use After Craniotomy for Evacuation of Supratentorial Epidural Hematomas: A Case Series of Radiographic and Clinical Outcomes

Placement of Wound Drain After Anterior Circulation Aneurysm Clipping: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

OBJECTIVE

Wound drain used to be a routine procedure after craniotomy for aneurysm clipping, although this was not based on clinical evidence. The purpose of our study was to determine the necessity of wound drain placement after anterior circulation aneurysm surgery.

METHODS

Retrospective analysis of patients with anterior circulation aneurysms treated by clipping in the Department of Neurosurgery, Wuhan University Zhongnan hospital from January 2019 to December 2019 was carried out. Demographic and clinical data, including age, sex, body mass index, disease history, results of the laboratory and imaging examinations, and surgical logs, were reviewed.

RESULTS

A total of 236 patients (90 male and 146 female) were included in the analysis and were divided into a Drain group and a No Drain group according to whether postoperative wound drainage was applied. There was no statistical difference in the incidence of a postoperative extradural hematoma between patients in the 2 groups. However, the incidence of postoperative meningitis was higher in the Drain group than in the No Drain group (9.09% vs. 1.59%, P = 0.009), and the total length of stay and postoperative length of stay in the Drain group were also more extended than in the No Drain group (17.32 ± 6.45 vs. 14.43 ± 5.75, P = 0.005; 12.83 ± 5.07 vs. 9.82 ± 4.50, P = 0.007, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

Postoperative wound drain did not significantly reduce the incidence of an extradural hematoma after anterior circulation aneurysm surgery. On the contrary, it may be associated with an increased incidence of postoperative meningitis and length of stay. Given these findings, the postoperative drain should be maintained cautiously and meet more rigorous application criteria.

A prognostic scoring system for operated acute epidural hematoma based on gray-white matter ratio

ABSTRACT

To determine the prognostic risk factors of patients with acute epidural hematoma (AEDH), a scoring system was established based on gray-white matter ratio (GWR) and internal verification was performed.All patients with AEDH who underwent surgical treatment in Qinghai Provincial People's Hospital from January 2013 to June 2019 were continuously collected. The clinical and imaging data of the patients were collected. According to Glasgow Outcome Scale at 3 months after operation, the patients were divided into poor and good prognosis groups, respectively. The GWR value of the nonhematoma side was measured at the inner capsule area. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used. Independent predictors significantly related to the prognosis of AEDH were screened out and a nomogram was established based on these factors.A total of 170 cases were included in this study, the Glasgow Coma Score (severe and moderate), cerebral hernia, midline shift, preoperative GWR, postoperative GWR, hematoma thickness/midline shift, time from coma to surgery, and decompression of bone flap were the independent risk factors for predicting the poor prognosis of AEDH. Moreover, the prediction ability of nomogram was higher than any other independent predictive factors.The nomogram model established represents the most effective factor to predict the prognosis of operated AEDH. The scoring system is characterized by high accuracy, simplicity and feasibility, with a wide range of clinical application prospects.