Acute intracranial bleeding and recurrence after bur hole craniostomy for chronic subdural hematoma

OBJECT There is inconsistency among the perioperative management strategies currently used for chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH). Moreover, postoperative complications such as acute intracranial bleeding and cSDH recurrence affect clinical outcome of cSDH surgery. This study evaluated the risk factors associated with acute intracranial bleeding and cSDH recurrence and identified an effective perioperative strategy for cSDH patients. METHODS A retrospective study of patients who underwent bur hole craniostomy for cSDH between 2008 and 2012 was performed. RESULTS A consecutive series of 303 cSDH patients (234 males and 69 females; mean age 67.17 years) was analyzed. Postoperative acute intracranial bleeding developed in 14 patients (4.57%) within a mean of 3.07 days and recurrence was observed in 37 patients (12.21%) within a mean of 31.69 days (range 10-104 days) after initial bur hole craniostomy. The comorbidities of hematological disease and prior shunt surgery were clinical factors associated with acute bleeding. There was a significant risk of recurrence in patients with diabetes mellitus, but recurrence did not affect the final neurological outcome (p = 0.776). Surgical details, including the number of operative bur holes, saline irrigation of the hematoma cavity, use of a drain, and type of postoperative ambulation, were not significantly associated with outcome. However, a large amount of drainage was associated with postoperative acute bleeding. CONCLUSIONS Bur hole craniostomy is an effective surgical procedure for initial and recurrent cSDH. Patients with hematological disease or a history of prior shunt surgery are at risk for postoperative acute bleeding; therefore, these patients should be carefully monitored to avoid overdrainage. Surgeons should consider informing patients with diabetes mellitus that this comorbidity is associated with an increased likelihood of recurrence.