How to Treat an Acute Subdural Hematoma

A subdural hematoma is a form of traumatic brain injury in which blood gathers between the dura and the arachnoid. Unlike epidural bleeding, which is usually caused by tears in arteries, subdural bleeding is caused by tears in veins that cross the subdural space. There are only a few treatment options available to treat hematoma and they are listed in this article along with the causes and symptoms.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Know the symptoms of hematoma, so you can know what to expect and in turn promptly seek the treatment required of hematoma and other head injuries. Symptoms of subdural hemorrhaging have a much slower onset than symptoms of epidural hemorrhaging because low-pressure blood vessels such as veins bleed much more slowly than arteries. Therefore, symptoms may show up within 24 hours but could be delayed by two weeks or more. Some symptoms include but are not limited to: irritability, seizures, numbness, headaches, blurred vision, dizziness, disorientation, amnesia, lethargy, nausea, vomiting, changes in personality and difficulty walking.
2. Get prompt medical attention after head injury. General assessment of head injury will include a complete neurological examination. Significant subdural hemorrhaging will show up on a CT or MRI scan. Treatment of a subdural hematoma depends on the size and rate of growth. Small subdural hematomas should be controlled by carefully monitoring the injury of the patient. Small subdural hematomas will generally heal themselves with no surgical intervention.
3. Be aware that large or highly symptomatic hematomas require a craniotomy, which is the surgical opening of the skull. A surgeon then opens the dura and removes the blood clot with suction or irrigation. The surgeon will also identify sites of bleeding and control them. There are some complications after craniotomy and they may include: increased intracranial pressure, brain edema, new or recurrent bleeding, infection and seizure. The patient is usually kept in the hospital up to a week (maybe longer) after craniotomy. After release from the hospital, a patient that has been treated for massive hematoma should be careful of extreme situations such as contact sports.

Tips & Warnings

• Head injuries are nothing to mess around with. If you have even a slight head injury you need to get emergency care immediately. Epidural and Subdural Hemorrhaging can lead to coma or death if left untreated.