IMR Press / JIN / Volume 21 / Issue 2 / DOI: 10.31083/j.jin2102069
Open Access Case Report
Delayed-onset subdural hematoma after mild head injury with negative initial brain imaging
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1 Department of Neurosurgery, Chosun University Medical School, 54975 Gwangju, Republic of Korea
2 Department of Neurology and Research Institute of Clinical Medicine of Jeonbuk National University, 54907 Jeonju, Republic of Korea
3 Biomedical Research Institute, Jeonbuk National University Medical School and Hospital, 54907 Jeonju, Republic of Korea
*Correspondence: hgkang@jbnu.ac.kr (Hyun Goo Kang)
Academic Editor: Charles J. Prestigiacomo
J. Integr. Neurosci. 2022, 21(2), 69; https://doi.org/10.31083/j.jin2102069
Submitted: 28 April 2021 | Revised: 22 July 2021 | Accepted: 22 July 2021 | Published: 23 March 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Brain Imaging)
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by IMR Press.
This is an open access article under the CC BY 4.0 license.
Abstract

Mild head injuries are commonly encountered in the neurosurgical field and emergency room (ER). The usual step is to discharge if the mental status of the patient is good and the initial brain computed tomography (CT) findings are normal. Here, we report a rare case of an 82-year-old male patient who developed delayed-onset bilateral subdural hematoma five weeks after a mild head injury. He was not on anticoagulant or antiplatelet therapy. The initial CT scan on the day of injury and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging performed seven days after the injury did not reveal any intracranial pathology or skull fracture. However, he presented with severe headaches and an unsteady ataxic gait five weeks later. Brain CT revealed bilateral subdural hematoma compressing the lateral ventricles with a midline shift to the right side. The possible pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this uncommon entity are discussed with a review of the relevant literature.

Keywords
Computed tomography
Delayed
Magnetic resonance image
Subdural hematoma
Trauma
Figures
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