Clinical pattern of chronic subdural haematoma.

To assess the clinical manifestation of chronic subdural haematoma (CSH) the authors retrospectively analysed the files of 131 adult patients treated in the Department of Neurosurgery Medical Academy of Lódź. In 14 patients the illness had a sudden onset, suggesting cerebral stroke. 50% of patients had symptoms of raised ICP, there were no differences between young and older patients. In patients older than 40 years focal neurological deficits were more frequent, and in 13% of them focal signs were homolateral to CSH. In 9 patients the lesion produced symptoms of transtentorial herniation within a very short period. The authors think that despite the great progress in neuroradiology and neurosurgery, the condition may still be overlooked if the clinical picture does not suggest an intracranial space-occupying growth.