[Masked subdural hematoma in alcoholics]

Nineteen cases of subdural hematomata in alcoholics are discussed to show the special diagnostic problems that the psychiatrist is faced with when dealing with such a disease picture. Although it is relatively easy to show that subdural hematomata in alcoholics are usually of traumatic origin, yet there is the difficulty of the psychiatrist being confronted with the task of giving medical attention to patients where, anamnestically, the trauma is of secondary importance only, and where psychopathological phenomena are a prime consideration. This syndrome, which is characterized by a fluctuation in consciousness and impulsion, psychomotor retardation, and baseless exaltation, may be regarded as suggesting the presence of a subdural hematoma in a person addicted to the use of alcoholic beverages in excess, even if the medical history of the patient is free from any traumata.