Bilateral Subdural Haematoma and CPAP Use: A Possible Association

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is a common condition usually treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). No reports have linked it to an acute subdural haematoma. A 54-year-old white man who had hypertension well controlled with an angiotensin II receptor blocker, presented with a 2-week history of occipital headache with no other focal neurological symptoms. The headache began 12 days after he had started using CPAP for OSA. A brain MRI performed 2 weeks later showed bilateral subdural haematomas which were chronic on the left and sub-acute/acute on the right. Since the patient was clinically stable with no focal neurological deficits, he received prednisone for 3 weeks and was followed up with consecutive CT scans demonstrating gradual regression of the haematomas. This is the first report showing that subdural haematomas could be linked to CPAP use.

Primary care physicians, pulmonologists and neurologists should be alert for unexplained headache in a patient on continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP).Subdural haematoma may be a rare reported side effect of CPAP use.Subdural haematoma in a stable patient with no focal neurological deficits can be treated conservatively with close monitoring and follow-up.