Rapid Spontaneous Resolution of Acute Epidural Hematoma: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Year 2016, Volume: 33 Issue: 3, 373 - 376, 01.05.2016

Fatih Aydemir Melih Çekinmez Özgür Kardeş Feyzi Birol Sarıca

Abstract

Background: Epidural hematomas (EDH) are pathologies
in which the early diagnosis and treatment
are important. Resolution under 24 hours is very rare.
Case Report: An 11-month-old male patient was
brought to the emergency department with head trauma
from falling out of bed onto his back. There were
no neurological deficits, except for the patient being
somnolent. Computed tomography (CT) of the patient
revealed subgaleal edema in the right parietal region,
linear fracture and image consistent with EDH with a
thickness of about 9 mm underneath fracture. A control
CT was performed after 3 hours as somnolence
continued in follow-up of the patient. Hematoma in
the epidural region was observed to completely resolve
and edema in the subgaleal region was observed
to gain hemorrhagic characteristics.
Conclusion: In total, 15 cases have been reported, including
our case, in the literature with resolution less
than 24 hours. Our case has the fourth fastest resolution
ever reported in the English literature. We think
that the most important factor in the rapid spontaneous
resolution is the presence of a connection between
the epidural and epicranial space, either through a
fracture or cranial sutures

Keywords

Epidural hematoma, skull fracture, spontaneous resolution

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