Outcome following acute subdural haematoma.

An analysis and long-term follow-up of 136 patients with acute subdural haematoma diagnosed or operated on within 72 hours after injury confirmed the poor outcome: 27 patients (20 percent) made a useful recovery, 13 (10 percent) are severely disabled, and 95 died (70 percent). One patient is still in a vegetative state. The poor outcome in those injuries requiring surgery in the first 24 hours suggests that the term "acute subdural haematoma" should be limited to this group. Earlier diagnosis and operation on acute subdural haematomas without severe primary brain injury may obviously save a few more patients. However, with very early admissions the number of patients with severe primary brain injury goes up; thus the poor outcome for acute subdural haematoma is likely to remain high.