Analyses of clinical prognostic factors in operated traumatic acute subdural hematomas

BACKGROUND Traumatic acute subdural hematoma is the most lethal of all head injuries. METHODS In this study, 113 patients with the diagnosis of posttraumatic acute subdural hematoma, who were operated between 1998 and 2006, were reviewed retrospectively. Statistical analysis was performed to detect any effects of the variables of age, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score on admission, time interval between the trauma and operation, and abnormality in the pupil reaction on the disease mortality and morbidity. RESULTS Results obtained in the study are discussed and compared with the related current literature. The overall mortality in 113 patients was 56.6%. CONCLUSION According to the results, the most important determinants of the prognosis are GCS score of the patient on admission, abnormality in pupil reaction, timing of the operation, and the patient's age.