The accuracy of near-infrared spectroscopy in detection of subdural and epidural hematomas.
BACKGROUND
We evaluated the safety range of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in the management of trauma patients who had subdural or epidural hematomas in the emergency room and intensive care unit.


METHODS
Thirty cases with the radiologic diagnosis of subdural and epidural hematomas were evaluated pre- and postoperatively by NIRS. The findings were analyzed by comparing the data of 30 minor head trauma patients without hematoma, which was proven by computed tomography imaging using Mann-Whitney U and McNemar tests.


RESULTS
The preoperative accuracy of NIRS in detecting the hematoma existence was same as the accuracy of the radiologic imaging but the postoperative findings were not reliable. The sensitivity of the device in detecting abnormality was found to be 0.87.


CONCLUSIONS
NIRS is a good device to predict intracranial subdural and epidural hematomas in the field and emergency units. However, it is not superior to computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. It is useful in emergency situations to diagnose an intracranial bleeding but NIRS is not reliable to detect either postoperative hematomas or intracranial status in patients with craniotomy.
Kahraman
Serdar
S
Department of Neurosurgery, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey. skahraman@gata.edu.tr
Kayali
Hakan
H
Atabey
Cem
C
Acar
Feridun
F
Gocmen
Selcuk
S
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004867:Equipment Design; D005260:Female; D015600:Glasgow Coma Scale; D006407:Hematoma, Epidural, Cranial / Q000175:diagnosis*; D046648:Hematoma, Subdural, Intracranial / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019095:Point-of-Care Systems; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000295:instrumentation*