[Acute spontaneous subdural haematoma of arterial origin].
BACKGROUND
An acute subdural hematoma is often regarded as a complication of head trauma. Occasionally subdural bleeding from the rupture of a cerebral aneurysm or an arteriovenous malformations is described. Spontaneous subdural hematoma is, however, very rare and it commonly has an arterial origin and their aetiology is still a matter of controversy.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this paper is to present eight cases of spontaneous subdural hematoma seen at our department during the last 19 years. The etiological possibilities of spontaneous subdural hematoma are discussed.


METHODS
We analyzed 8 cases of acute spontaneous subdural hematoma among a total number of 321 patients with subdural hematoma is presented.


RESULTS
There were six males and 2 females with a mean age of 52 years (range 20-66). All patients developed progressive neurological deficits, until become comatose. All eight patients were operated on and surgical mortality was 25%.


CONCLUSIONS
Spontaneous subdural hematoma is a rare condition and the prognosis is mainly dependent on the pre-operative neurological state regardless of its origin or cause.
Gelabert-González
M
M
Hospital Clínico Universitario de Santiago, Departamento de Cirugía, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela.
Fernández-Villa
J M
JM
Iglesias-Pais
M
M
González-García
J
J
García-Allut
A
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002539:Cerebral Arterial Diseases / Q000150:complications; D005260:Female; D020199:Hematoma, Subdural, Acute / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged