Risk Factors for the Recurrence of Chronic Subdural Hematoma.

Objective: Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is commonly encountered in neurosurgery, and often occurs in elderly patients following a head injury. Despite favorable postoperative prognosis, recurrence remains common. Herein, we retrospectively analyzed the clinical and radiological data of patients at our institute to identify the risk factors for CSDH recurrence.

Methods: We investigated 370 patients who underwent surgery for CSDH at our institute. The following data were analyzed: sex, age, antiplatelet/anticoagulant use, preexisting diseases, radiological parameters, and surgical techniques. A univariate analysis was subsequently performed to examine the association between these variables and CSDH recurrence. Variables with a p-value of <0.05 in univariate analysis were further subjected to a multivariate logistic regression model to identify independent risk factors of CSDH.

Results: Of the 370 patients, 345 (93.2%) had no recurrence and 25 (6.8%) had recurrence. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed that male sex, advanced age, bilateral hematoma, moderate or severe brain atrophy, separation type, gradation type, and burr hole trephination were independent risk factors for CSDH recurrence.

Conclusion: Sex, age, bilateral hematoma, brain atrophy, hematoma density and architecture, and surgical techniques are all associated with CSDH recurrence.