Untitled

Abstract

Subdural hygroma is an accumulation of a cerebrospinal fluid-like fluid in the subdural space. It is a common epiphenomenon after a traumatic brain injury (TBI), but it may also occur after brain surgeries. A total of 17 patients in a prospective case series with subdural hygromas were analyzed. A male predominance (82.4%) was found. The mean age was 58.6 years. Traumatic brain injury was the main mechanism (76.5%); however, other mechanisms, such as post-craniotomy (17.6%), post-chronic subdural hematoma drainage (5.9%), and post-ventricle shunt (5.9%), were also observed. Incidental findings were diagnosed in 11.8% of the cases (mainly in elderly patients). Four patients required subdural shunt (23.5%)-all of them had TBI. Small subdural effusions were present in 35.5% of the cases. The mean time from admission to diagnosis was 6.1 days. The majority of the cases must have involved lesions of the dura-arachnoid interface since TBIs were the main causes of hygroma. The findings of incidental hygroma in elderly patients and its development after a ventricle shunt suggest that brain atrophy also plays a significant role in subdural hygroma formation. ResumoHigroma subdural é o acúmulo de fluido semelhante ao líquor no espaço subdural. É um epifenômeno comum após traumatismos crânio-encefálicos, mas também pode ocorrer após neurocirurgias. Nesta série de casos prospectiva, analisamos 17 pacientes com higroma subdural. Houve uma predominância no sexo masculino (82,4%). A idade média dos pacientes foi de 58,6 anos. Traumatismo crânio-encefálico foi o principal mecanismo (76,5%); porém outros mecanismos contribuíram para o surgimento de higroma: pós-craniotomia (17,6%), pós-drenagem de hematoma subdural crônico (5,9%), e pós-derivação ventricular (5,9%). Higromas incidentais foram diagnosticados em 11,8% dos casos (principalmente em pacientes mais velhos). Quatro pacientes necessitaram de derivação subdural (23,5%)-todos eles tiveram como mecanismo o