OBJECTIVETo estimate outcomes of patients with acute subdural hematomas by analysing the hematoma thickness, midline shift and the differences between them.

METHODSNinety-five patients with acute subdural hematoma were retrospectively studied by calculating hematoma thickness, midline shift and their difference with a statistical analysis of Kaplan-Meier, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U test.

RESULTSThe hematoma thickness ranged from 5.0 to 40.0 mm and midline shift was from 0 to 35.0 mm. Among these patients, 51% died and 49% survived after surgery. 18 patients (19%) showed good or satisfactory results. Kaplan-Meier analysis proved that the survival for patients with hematoma thickness approximately equal to l7 mm and a midline shift 15 mm or whose midline shift exceeded hematoma thickness by 2.2 mm, the survival rate was 50%. Glasgow outcome scale scores were correlated significantly with these parameters.

CONCLUSIONThe hematoma thickness, midline shift and their difference provided a database from which criteria could be derived, that is crucial for prognosis estimation.