Dare to date: age estimation of subdural hematomas, literature, and case analysis

The age estimation of injuries, e.g., subdural hematomas (SDH), can play an important role in medicolegal cases. Various forensic textbooks provide tables of histomorphological changes in SDH in time. The analysis of these data showed that these tables employed different time intervals, although they were all based on only a single publication with a limited number of cases in some of the time periods. The present study aimed to add cases to the original article and to standardize the dating system of SDH. Results from two well-documented studies and 64 additional cases were analyzed, and the use of a number of immunohistochemical staining methods, which could support the histomorphological analysis of some of the changes, was proposed. The results showed that correct age estimation was achieved in approximately 95 % of the cases. Based on the cumulative data from the two published studies and the analysis of the additional cases, a simplified timing table was developed, and the potential pitfalls were addressed. This study shows that accurate age estimation of SDH is possible, provided that the rules established by this study are observed.