Bilateral chronic subdural hematoma: unilateral or bilateral drainage?

OBJECTIVE Bilateral chronic subdural hematoma (bCSDH) is a common neurosurgical condition frequently associated with the need for retreatment. The reason for the high rate of retreatment has not been thoroughly investigated. Thus, the authors focused on determining which independent predictors are associated with the retreatment of bCSDH with a focus on surgical laterality. METHODS In a national database of CSDHs (Danish Chronic Subdural Hematoma Study) the authors retrospectively identified all bCSDHs treated in the 4 Danish neurosurgical departments over the 3-year period from 2010 to 2012. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to determine the relationship between retreatment of bCSDH and clinical, radiological, and surgical variables. RESULTS Two hundred ninety-one patients with bCSDH were identified, and 264 of them underwent unilateral (136 patients) or bilateral (128 patients) surgery. The overall retreatment rate was 21.6% (57 of 264 patients). Cases treated with unilateral surgery had twice the risk of retreatment compared with cases undergoing bilateral surgery (28.7% vs 14.1%, respectively, p = 0.002). In accordance with previous studies, the data also showed that a separated hematoma density and the absence of postoperative drainage were independent predictors of retreatment. CONCLUSIONS In bCSDHs bilateral surgical intervention significantly lowers the risk of retreatment compared with unilateral intervention and should be considered when choosing a surgical procedure.