Atorvastatin May Attenuate Recurrence of Chronic Subdural Hematoma.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is a common form of intracranial hemorrhage with a substantial recurrence rate. Atorvastatin may reduce CSDH via its anti-inflammatory and pro-angiogenesis effects, but its effectiveness for preventing recurrent CSDH has never been explored. We hypothesized that atorvastatin is effective in reducing recurrence of CSDH after surgery and identified determining factors predictive of hematoma recurrence.
METHODS: A prospective study was conducted in 168 surgical cases of CSDH.All patients were randomly assigned to the group treated with atorvastatin or control group. Clinically relevant data were compared between two groups, and subsequently between the recurrence and non-recurrence patients. Multiple logistic regression analysis of the relationship between atorvastatin treatment and the recurrence using brain atrophy, septated and bilateral hematoma was performed.
RESULTS: Atorvastatin group conferred an advantage by significantly decreasing the recurrence rate (P = 0.023), and patients managed with atorvastatin also had a longer time-to-recurrence (P = 0.038). Admission brain atrophy and bilateral hematoma differed significantly between the recurrence and non-recurrence patients (P = 0.047 and P = 0.045). The results of logistic regression analysis showed that atorvastatin significantly reduced the probability of recurrence; severe brain atrophy and bilateral hematoma were independent risk factors for recurrent CSDH.
CONCLUSIONS: Atorvastatin administration may decrease the risks of recurrence.Patients with severe brain atrophy and bilateral CSDH are prone to the recurrence.

RCT Entities:   Population Interventions Outcomes

Introduction

Chronicsubdural hematoma (CSDH) is a common form of intracranial hemorrhage with a recurrence rate after burr-hole surgery ranging from 9.2 to 26.5% (Wakai et al., 1990; Ernestus et al., 1997; Nakaguchi et al., 2001; Amirjamshidi et al., 2007). The origin and enlargement of CSDH have not been fully explained by any current hypothesis. Impaired angiogenesis in the neomembrane and localized inflammation may be important elements in the development of CSDH (Hohenstein et al., 2005; Javadi et al., 2011). Atorvastatin has pleiotropic effects on restraining inflammation and promoting angiogenesis besides its cholesterol-lowering function (Buttmann et al., 2007; Lu et al., 2007; Matsumura et al., 2009; Araujo et al., 2010). Although results from a preliminary clinical study showed that the oral administration of atorvastatin is safe and effective in treating CSDH, its effect on recurrence of CSDH has never been explored. We hypothesized that atorvastatin is effective in reducing recurrence after hematoma removal by restraining inflammation and promoting membrane neovascularization, which improves blood drainage. We tested this hypothesis by investigating the efficacy of atorvastatin (20 mg/night, oral) for treating patients with CSDH after burr-hole drainage.

Methods

Patients

This prospective study comprised 168 patients with CSDH who were enrolled from February 2013 to July 2015 under a human subject protocol approved by the Jiangsu University Hospital Medical Ethics Board. All patients and/or their family members were thoroughly informed of the study and its risks. An informed consent was obtained from each patient or his or her legal representative.

Clinical data including age, sex, head injury history and medical history were obtained on the day of diagnosis. Patients enrolled in the study were evaluated using Markwalder's Grading Scale and Glasgow Coma Scale (MGS-GCS) on admission (Markwalder et al., 1981). They were graded into the following stages according to the criteria listed in Table 1.

Table 1

Grading criteria for patients enrolled in the study.

Patient's grade	Markwalder's grading scale	Glasgow coma scale
Grade 0	Normal neurological status without any symptoms	Glasgow coma scale score of 15
Grade 1	Without neurological deficits, but with symptoms such as headache or unsteady gait	Glasgow coma scale score of 15
Grade 2	Focal neurological deficits, such as drowsiness or disorientation, or variable neurological deficits, such as hemiparesis	Glasgow Coma Scale score of 13 to 14
Grade 3	With stupor but appropriate responses to noxious stimuli and several focal neurological signs such as hemiplegia	Glasgow coma scale score of 9 to 12
Grade 4	Coma with absent motor responses to noxious stimuli and decerebrate or decorticate posturing	Glasgow coma scale score of less than 9

Only patients with grades 0–3 CSDH were selected for atorvastatin treatment in this study.

Computed Tomography (CT) was performed before surgery and repeated twice in the first month and then monthly until 3 months after surgery. Additional CT examination was performed when necessary. The hematoma collection was classified as hypodense, isodense, hyperdense, or mixed, on the basis of the density of hematoma relative to brain tissue (Scotti et al., 1977). Brain atrophy was classified into three stages: no or mild atrophy; definite atrophy such as dilated sulci; severe atrophy such as widely dilated sulci and subdural space (Kudo et al., 1992).

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Patients were enrolled based on the following inclusion criteria: age ≥ 18 years and evidence of supratentorial CSDH by CT; patients with the following conditions were excluded from the study: histories of liver failure, renal failure, disseminated intravascular coagulation and previous recurrence; CSDH resulting from tumor or blood disease; angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), estrogen, etizolam and steroid use that may influence angiogenesis and promote blood circulation within 2 weeks prior to the enrolment; and refusal to participate in the study.

Design and atorvastatin therapy

All cases of CSDH underwent surgical intervention, including trepanation of a single burr hole and irrigation of the hematoma with saline solution under local anesthesia. After the irrigation, a postoperative closed drainage system with a silicone tube was inserted into the hematoma cavity. The drainage tube was usually removed 2 days after surgery. All patients with bilateral hematoma were treated 1 side at a time.

Three medical assistants were appointed as study coordinators responsible for group and drug assignments. All patients were randomly assigned to the group treated with atorvastatin or the control group after surgery. A single oral dose of 20 mg atorvastatin daily (Pfizer, USA) for 3 months was taken by atorvastatin patients the next day. Patients were monitored for blood cell counts, functions of coagulation system, liver, kidney, neurological system, and gastrointestinal track, and symptoms related to the medication during the course of treatment.

Aspirin or warfarin was discontinued after enrollment. If a prothrombin time/international normalized ratio (PT/INR) on admission was more than 1.5, vitamin K2 was administered intravenously to the patient before surgery. PT/INR was rechecked and vitamin K2 was repeated if the PT/INR was still more than 1.5. All patients resumed taking the antiplatelet and/or anticoagulant drugs 1 week after the operation, and the PT/INR was controlled no more than 1.5.

Routine follow-up was generally conducted twice in the first month and monthly until 3 months after operation. When feeling uncomfortable, the patients could visit back at any time.

Definition

We defined “recurrence” of CSDH as a subsequent increase in hematoma volume in the ipsilateral subdural space with neurological deficits, which was followed by another operation. Some objective criteria were used to decide re-surgery: a sudden increase in hematoma volume ≥ 10%, a mid-line displacement of greater than 1 cm by CT scan, a decrease in GCS ≥ 2 or deterioration in MGS-GCS ≥ 1. Time-to-recurrence was defined as time from the first surgery to recurrence. The atorvastatin treatment was discontinued if a recurrence occurred.

Statistical analysis

Data were presented as Mean ± SD. Student t-test or Linear Trend Chi-Square test were used to evaluate differences between groups. A logistic regression model was used to determine correlations between continuous or categorical variables and independent factors affecting the recurrence. All statistical analyses were carried out using SPSS for Windows version 18.0 (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, USA), and significance was defined as a P-value < 0.05.

Results

The overall study profile is shown in Figure 1. All patients were randomly placed into the atorvastatin group or the control group. The demographic and clinical characteristics of the patients are summarized in Table 2. The 2 groups were well matched. Mean age of the participants was 64.61 ± 10.50 years, ranging from 38 years to 84 years. Totally138 men and 30 women were included, the sex ratio being 4.6:1. As expected, atorvastatin group conferred an advantage by significantly decreasing the recurrence rate (P = 0.023). Surprisingly, patients treated with atorvastatin also had a longer time-to-recurrence (P = 0.038). The 2 groups in our study were similar in age, gender, history of head injury, medical history, MGS-GCS scores and CT performance on admission (Table 2).

Figure 1

Overall study profile.

Table 2

The demographic and clinical characteristics of 2 groups.

	Atorvastatin	Control	P-value
Age	65.66 ± 10.78	63.33 ± 10.08	0.152
Women	15/92 (16.3%)	15/76 (19.7%)	0.563
Head injury	63/92 (68.5%)	57/76 (75.0%)	0.352
MEDICAL HISTORY
Hypertension	30/92 (32.6%)	28/76 (36.8%)	0.566
Diabetes	14/92 (15.2%)	15/76 (19.7%)	0.440
Arrhythmia	9/92 (9.8%)	13/76 (17.1%)	0.161
Cerebrovasculer accident	8/92 (8.7%)	10/76 (13.2%)	0.352
Aspirin history	11/92 (12.0%)	14/76 (18.4%)	0.241
Warfarin history	8/92 (8.7%)	10/76 (18.4%)	0.352
ADMISSION
MGS-GCS			0.878
Grade 0	4/92 (4.3%)	4/76 (5.3%)
Grade 1	19/92 (20.7%)	12/76 (15.8%)
Grade 2	26/92 (28.3%)	24/76 (31.6%)
Grade 3	36/92 (39.1%)	32/76 (42.1%)
Grade 4	7/92 (7.6%)	4/76 (5.3%)
CT density			0.192
Hypodense	16/92 (17.4%)	11/76 (14.5%)
Isodense	42/92 (45.7%)	27/76 (35.5%)
Hyperdense	22/92 (23.9%)	30/76 (39.5%)
Mixed	12/92 (13.0%)	8/76 (10.5%)
Brain atrophy			0.392
No/mild atrophy	32/92 (34.8%)	34/76 (44.7%)
Definite atrophy	28/92 (30.4%)	18/76 (23.7%)
Severe atrophy	32/92 (34.8%)	24/76 (31.6%)
Septated	18/92 (19.6%)	20/76 (26.3%)	0.298
Laterality			0.744
Unilateral	77/92 (83.7%)	65/76 (85.5%)
Bilateral	15/92 (16.3%)	11/76 (14.5%)
Recurrence	8/92 (8.7%)	16/76 (21.1%)	0.023
Time-to-recurrence	35.75 ± 12.49	24.31 ± 11.68	0.038

Data are mean ± SD, n/N(%); MGS-GCS, Markwalder's Grading Scale and the Glasgow Coma Scale; CT, Computed Tomography.

Table 3 shows baseline characteristics comparison between the recurrence group and no recurrence group. Demographic variables such as age, sex, head injury and medical history, MGC-GCS scores and CT density at admission demonstrated no difference between 2 groups. The ratio of severe brain atrophy was significantly higher in the recurrence group (P = 0.047). Patients with CSDH recurrence tended to have a septated hematoma on admission, although not statistically significant (P = 0.060). There existed a significantly higher ratio of bilateral hematoma in the non-recurrence group (P = 0.045). Recurrence group was significantly associated with higher rate of atorvastatin use (P = 0.023).

Table 3

The demographic and clinical characteristics of 2 groups.

	Recurrence	No recurrence	P-value
Age	66.92 ± 7.73	64.22 ± 10.87	0.246
Women	6/24 (25.0%)	24/144 (16.7%)	0.324
Head injury	16/24 (66.7%)	104/144 (72.2%)	0.577
MEDICAL HISTORY
Hypertension	10/24 (41.7%)	48/144 (33.3%)	0.427
Diabetes	7/24 (29.2%)	22/144 (15.3%)	0.096
Arrhythmia	3/24 (12.5%)	19/144 (13.2%)	0.926
Cerebrovasculer accident	2/24 (8.3%)	16/144 (11.1%)	0.684
Aspirin history	2/24 (8.3%)	23/144 (16.0%)	0.330
Warfarin history	3/24 (12.5%)	15/144 (10.4%)	0.760
ADMISSION
MGS-GCS			0.522
Grade 0	1/24 (4.2%)	7/144 (4.9%)
Grade 1	2/24 (8.3%)	29/144 (20.1%)
Grade 2	8/24 (33.3%)	42/144 (29.2%)
Grade 3	10/24 (41.7%)	58/144 (40.3%)
Grade 4	3/24 (12.5%)	8/144 (5.6%)
CT density			0.614
Hypodense	6/24 (25.0%)	21/144 (14.6%)
Isodense	9/24 (37.5%)	60/144 (41.7%)
Hyperdense	7/24 (29.2%)	45/144 (31.3%)
Mixed	2/24 (8.3%)	18/144 (12.5%)
Brain atrophy			0.047
No/mild atrophy	5/24 (20.8%)	61/144 (42.3%)
Definite atrophy	6/24 (25.0%)	40/144 (27.8%)
Severe atrophy	13/24 (54.2%)	43/144 (29.9%)
Septated	9/24 (37.5%)	29/144 (20.1%)	0.060
Laterality			0.045
Unilateral	17/24 (70.8%)	125/34 (86.8%)
Bilateral	7/24 (29.2%)	19/144 (13.2%)
Atorvastatin	8/24 (33.3%)	84/144 (58.3%)	0.023

Data are mean ± SD, n/N(%); MGS-GCS, Markwalder's Grading Scale and the Glasgow Coma Scale; CT, Computed Tomography.

We performed a multivariate logistic regression analysis and found that atorvastatin was an independent protective factor for the recurrence of CSDH (odds ratio, 0.252; 95% confidence interval, 0.090–0.702; P = 0.008). Compared with definite atrophy on admission CT, no or mild atrophy was found to have a significant relationship with non-recurrence (P = 0.019), whereas severe atrophy was considered as an independent risk factor for the recurrence (P = 0.034). Although septated hematoma was not significantly associated with recurrence, patients with septated hematoma had an odds ratio of 3.417 (95% confidence interval, 0.931–12.536; P = 0.064). After adjustment for other factors, bilateral hematoma was demonstrated as an independent risk factor for the recurrence of CSDH (P = 0.004) (Table 4).

Table 4

Logistic regression analysis of factors related to recurrence.

Factor	OR(95% CI)	P-value
Atorvastatin	0.252 (0.090–0.702)	0.008
Brain atrophy*
No/mild atrophy	0.067 (0.007–0.642)	0.019
Severe atrophy	4.192 (1.111–15.819)	0.034
Septated	3.417 (0.931–12.536)	0.064
Bilateral	28.860 (2.855–291.692)	0.004

OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval.

Definite atrophy was used as the reference group for brain atrophy.

Discussion

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of atorvastatin on CSDH recurrence after surgery and identify risk factors for the recurrence of CSDH. The results indicated that patients managed with atorvastatin had a lower rate of recurrence and, fortunately, the time interval between the first surgery and recurrence was also postponed after atorvastatin use. Additionally, multiple logistic regression analysis showed that severe atrophy and bilateral hematoma on admission were independent risk factors for the recurrence.

Atorvastatin therapy

Atorvastatin, one of the 3-Hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl (HMG)-COA reductase inhibitors, is the first-line treatment for high cholesterol patients and has been demonstrated to improve angiogenesis and increase circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), which are critical for the formation of new blood vessels (Youssef et al., 2002). It has also been shown to inhibit inflammation and decrease levels of pro-inflammatory molecules (Araujo et al., 2010). Previous studies demonstrated that the most potent anti-inflammatory facilitation without the risk of hemorrhage was initiated by the low dose but not the high dose of atorvastatin (Urbich et al., 2002; Chen et al., 2003). CSDH patients responded well to the dose of 20 mg daily atorvastatin (Wang et al., 2014). Consequently, this dose was chosen to be applied in the present study.

A previous study indicated that inflammatory activities in the hematoma might play a role in the risk of a recurrence of CSDH (Pripp and Stanisic, 2014). In addition, the other prospective study reported that brain trauma caused the onset of an inflammatory process within the dural border cell layer and high level of inflammatory cytokines were significantly correlated with CSDH recurrence (Frati et al., 2004). However, no studies concerning atorvastatin in the prevention of CSDH recurrence have been reported. It is based on known effects of statins on inflammation and angiogenesis that we designed this atorvastatin treatment trial for the recurrence. This is the first study that evaluates the effect of atorvastatin on the postoperative recurrence of CSDH using a black-controlled comparison prospectively.

Our findings showed that the recurrent rates of CSDH declined significantly from 21.1% in the control group to less than 10% of patients treated with atorvastatin, which accords with results from a preliminary study. Dong Wang and co-workers reported that 2 patients with recurrent CSDH from prior surgery had a complete response after atorvastatin use, indicating that atorvastatin is effective not only for patients with primary CSDH, but also for those with recurrent hematoma (Wang et al., 2014). These findings are consistent with a positive effect of atorvastatin in prevention of formation and re-accumulation of CSDH, and their use could avoid some devastating complications in surgical intervention. In our study, significant differences in the time-to-recurrence between groups also suggested the effectiveness of atorvastatin therapy in recurrent CSDH. In addition, the logistic regression model established atorvastatin as one strong protective factor associated with recurrence.

Brain atrophy

There were more patients with severe atrophy and less with no or mild atrophy in the recurrent patients. Taking definite atrophy as the reference level, multivariate analysis revealed that no/mild atrophy was a protective predictor for recurrence, whereas severe atrophy was considered as a recurrence-related risk factor. Brain atrophy has been well described as being a risk factor for both occurrence and recurrence of CSDH (Yamamoto et al., 2003; Amirjamshidi et al., 2007; Torihashi et al., 2008). This has been explained by examining brain elastance. Higher elastance is associated with increasing age, atrophy and persistence of a subdural space (Fukuhara et al., 1996; Mori and Maeda, 2001).

Septated hematoma

This study found a higher but non-significant recurrence rate in patients with septated hematoma on admission. A previous study demonstrated that a significantly higher postoperative recurrence rate was found to be associated with separated type on CT scans obtained within 4 days after surgery, whereas variables on preoperative CT scans were not significantly associated with the recurrence (Stanisic et al., 2005). It is understandable that patients with septations treated with a thorough resection might experience a lower CSDH recurrence. Thus, a considerable number of cases appeared to need craniotomy and resection of intrahematomal membrane for complete recovery in CSDH (Tanikawa et al., 2001). Taking these findings together, it is not strange that septations may play a role in increasing the recurrence rate of CSDH. At least in the present study, we could not conclude septated hematoma is a risk factor for the recurrence of CSDH.

Bilateral CSDH

Bilateral CSDH has been considered to be a risk factor for CSDH recurrence in previous studies (Robinson, 1984; Probst, 1988). The recurrence rate in patients with bilateral CSDHs has been reported to be significantly higher than that in patients with unilateral CSDHs (Kung et al., 2012). A large-scale study of 236 CSDH cases by Penchet et al. showed remarkable statistical significance in postoperative recurrence rate between the unilateral and bilateral ones (Penchet et al., 1998). In addition, study has shown that bilateral CSDHs have the potential for rapid and progressive aggravation (Kurokawa et al., 2005). In our study, the results of logistic regression demonstrated that bilateral CSDH was an independent predictor for recurrent CSDH. Patients with bilateral CSDH tend to have previous brain atrophy, which may lead to poor brain reexpansion after the operation. Poor brain reexpansion has been shown to be correlated with recurrence, and it is thought to create the potential for reaccumulation of the hematoma (Torihashi et al., 2008).

Conclusions

Atorvastatin administration may reduce the recurrent risks of CSDH. Severe brain atrophy and bilateral hematoma were independent predictors for the recurrence.

Author contributions

HL was responsible for data collection and statistics; ZL was responsible for the follow-up and statistics; ZL was responsible for the operation training and statistics; YJ specialized in group and drug assignments; SK was in charge of the protocol design and coordination.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.