Supratentorial Epidural Hematoma in Infants

摘要

Traumatic epidural hematoma (EDH) represents a rare head injury complication in infants. Its diagnosis can be quite challenging because its clinical presentation is usually subtle and nonspecific. Authors present a study on 28 infants with epidural heamatoma (EDH) admitted in the Pediatric Department of Neurosurgery of the Clinic Hospital "Bagdasar-Arseni" in the period of 1990-2005 (15 years). The most common presenting symptom was irritability, which occurred in 15 cases (53.6%), of our patients. Pallor in all cases (100%) and subgaleal haematoma in 19/28 (67,9%) patients were the most commonly occurring clinical signs upon admission; both signs represent signs of significant clinical importance. Surgical evacuation via a craniotomy was required in 24/28 (85,7%) of our patients, while 4/28 (14,3%) patients were managed conservatively. The mortality rate in our series was 7,1%, and our long-term morbidity rate was 3.5% . EDH in infants represents a life-threatening complication of head injury, which requires early identification and prompt surgical or conservative management depending on the patient's clinical condition, size of EDH, and presence of midline structure shift on head CT scan.