Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 24, 2026
A Murine Model of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage
Published on: November 21, 2013
Bilateral Chronic Subdural Hematoma Presenting with Pseudo-Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Sign on Computed Tomography
Hiroshi Shima1, Kazutaka Shirokane2, Eiichi Baba2
1Department of Neurosurgery, Shima Neurosurgical and Orthopedic Clinic, Kanto Rosai Hospital, Kawasaki, Japan.
Background:
On rare occasions, cisterns are demonstrated as high-density areas on computed tomography (CT) and misdiagnosed with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). This false-positive finding is called pseudo-SAH.
Patients And Methods:
From April 2014 to August 2018, a total of 161 patients with chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) were treated in our hospital. For these cases, the existence of a pseudo-SAH sign on CT was retrospectively examined.
Results:
One patient with bilateral CSDH showed pseudo-SAH and a further examination to evaluate vascular abnormalities causing true SAH was necessary. In three patients, the Sylvian fissures were demonstrated as high-density areas due to an atherosclerotic middle cerebral artery; however, the condition was not misdiagnosed with SAH.
Conclusion:
In cases of CSDH, there is a possibility that CT demonstrates a pseudo-SAH sign. In such cases, close examinations to exclude true SAH are mandatory.
Related Concept Videos
01:10Computed Tomography
The technique was invented in the 1970s and is based on the principle that as X-rays pass through the body, they are absorbed or reflected at different levels. In the technique, a patient lies on a motorized platform while a computerized axial tomography (CAT) scanner rotates...
01:27Imaging Studies III: Computed Tomography
01:27Signs of Puberty
01:10Introduction to the Sign Test
01:30Sign Convention
The normal force acts perpendicular to the beam's cross-section and can...
01:12Sign Test for Nominal Data
For example, consider a...