Structural characteristics of chronic subdural hematomas in elderly and senile patients and their prognostic significance

Abstract

o account morphological characteristicsMaterials and methods. Retrospective analysis of the results of diagnosis and treatment of patients with CSDH treated in the neurotrauma department of the Romodanov Institute of Neurosurgery NAMS of Ukraine and the City Hospital for Emergency and Emergency Medicine of Zaporizhzhya in 2010‒2019. Among the patients were 80 elderly people, 32 senile and 6 long-lived people. Multispiral computed tomography (MSCT) was performed in 86.7 % of patients, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in 13.3 %. In 118 cases, surgical intervention was performed (various types and volume), in 67 % ‒ a morphological study of the fragments of the capsule of the CSDH was performed.Results. The indication for surgery in elderly and senile persons with CSDH is the presence of hematomas with a volume of ≥100 cm3, regardless of the severity of the dislocation syndrome. In 95 % of observations, accompanying somatic diseases were detected. Control of treatment effectiveness was carried out with the help of MRI (in 73.5 % of cases) and CT (in 26.5 %). According to the results of histological studies, three variants of the structure of the capsule of CSDH have been established (according to the density of the location of vessels (the level of expression of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)) and the ratio of mesenchymal cells), which, together with clinical data, makes it possible to determine the genesis of CSDH. Also, several variants of the structure of the capsule of CSDH were identified, depending on the timing of the diagnosis and morphological examination. Analysis of the relative number and ratio of different cell pools (lymphocytes, fibroblasts, fibrocytes), quantification of immunopositive cells with a reaction to VEGF antibodies, as well as determination of the number of newly formed vessels per unit area makes it possible to predict the course and risk of recurrence of CSDH. Conclusions. The clinical and diagnostic characteristic of CSDH, characteristic of the elderly and senile, is the presence of hematomas with a volume of ≥100 cm3 and the discrepancy between the severity of the condition, clinical and neurological manifestations, and the degree of expressiveness of dislocation-compression changes according to MSCT/MRI data. It is effective to remove CSDH through 1 – 2 milling holes. Microcraniotomy is considered appropriate for a hematoma with complex neuroimaging architecture (multiple septa, layers, trabeculae), in some cases of hematoma recurrence. If the inner surface of the capsule is turned to the blood clot and is represented by a layer of spindle-shaped cells, this indicates a non-traumatic origin of the hematoma. A staged complex clinical and diagnostic examination for CSDH has both clinical and purely practical significance (especially expert), justifying the costs of treatment and insurance payments, ensures the social adaptation of the patient and brings the solution of these issues closer to international standards. Indications, criteria for choosing tactics and the sequence of performing procedures taking into account risks, prognostic clinical-radiological and structural signs are based mainly on recommendations and consensuses and require further detailed study.