Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 2, 2025
A Bedside, Single Burr Hole Approach to Multimodality Monitoring in Severe Brain Injury
Published on: March 26, 2019
Single versus Double Burr Hole for Drainage of Chronic Subdural Hematoma: Randomized Controlled Study
1Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, Kaduna State University, Kaduna, Nigeria.
Insights
This study found that single burr hole drainage for chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is as effective as double burr hole drainage, with similar recurrence rates and shorter surgery times.
Area of Science:
- Neurosurgery
- Surgical Techniques
- Clinical Outcomes
Background:
- Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is a frequent neurosurgical emergency.
- Current CSDH drainage often uses single or double burr holes, with limited comparative data.
- This study addresses the comparative efficacy of single versus double burr hole drainage for CSDH.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the recurrence rates of chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) after single versus double burr hole drainage.
- To evaluate the efficacy of two common surgical approaches for CSDH management.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial was conducted from January 2015 to December 2019.
- 192 patients with CSDH underwent either single or double burr hole drainage.
- Patients were followed for 6 months post-surgery to assess recurrence; data analyzed using Fisher exact test.
Main Results:
- The overall recurrence rate for CSDH was 2.6% (single burr hole: 3%; double burr hole: 2.2%).
- No statistically significant difference in recurrence rates was observed between the single and double burr hole groups (P = 1.000).
Conclusions:
- Single burr hole drainage is as effective as double burr hole drainage for CSDH.
- Single burr hole procedures result in shorter surgical durations.
- Both methods provide comparable symptom relief and recurrence rates for CSDH.
Background:
Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is one of the most common neurosurgical emergencies. Most neurosurgeons currently drained CSDH through single or double burr holes; however, few studies have compared the 2 approaches to drainage. The aim of this study is to compare the recurrent rate following double and single burr hole for CSDH in our practice.
Methods:
This is a randomized controlled study from January 2015 to December 2019 in a neurosurgical unit in Kaduna, Nigeria. All patients with imaging diagnosis of subacute or chronic subdural hematoma who enrolled in the study had either a single or double burr hole. Patients were followed up for 6 months after surgery to assess for recurrence. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 for Windows. The Fisher exact test was performed to compare the 2 treatment groups. A 2-sided P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results:
A total of 192 patients were enrolled in the study with 99 in the single-burr hole group and 93 in the double burr-hole group. The overall recurrence rate in this study was 2.6%. The recurrence rate in the single arm was 3%, and in the double arm it was 2.2%. There was no statistically significant difference in recurrence between the 2 groups (P = 1.000).
Conclusions:
A single burr hole is as efficacious as a double burr hole in terms of relief of symptoms and recurrence, and it has a shorter duration of surgery.
More Related Videos
09:14Pre-Chiasmatic, Single Injection of Autologous Blood to Induce Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in a Rat Model
Published on: June 18, 2021
09:00The Rabbit Blood-shunt Model for the Study of Acute and Late Sequelae of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Technical Aspects
Published on: October 2, 2014