[Chronic subdural hematoma in the elderly and computerized tomography. Study of 80 cases]

The pathogenesis of chronic subdural hematoma, especially the reason why it becomes chronic is still under discussion. A series of 80 patients older than 60 years (47% older than 75 years) were studied clinically and by CT. As compared with angiography, CT allows the subdural hematoma to be detected earlier. In some cases the subdural hematoma might have been missed without CT. The indication for surgery remains unchanged and surgical techniques too. In 80% of the patients good results from the clinical point of view could be achieved. There was no correlation between clinical signs and the findings obtained by CT. Postoperatively it usually took 60 to 70 days for CT findings to disappear. The prognosis of subdural hematoma in the elderly remains guarded. The mortality rate in our series was 11% possibly as a consequence of age.