BURR-HOLE DRAINAGE WITH DRAIN VERSUS BURR-HOLE DRAINAGE WITH DRAIN AND IRRIGATION IN TREATING CHRONIC SUBDURAL HEMATOMA: A CASE-CONTROL STUDY
Ari Anwer Salih a and Ari Sami Hussain Nadhim b
Background
Chronic subdural hematoma is a common neurosurgical condition. Its prevalence is increasing worldwide due to the increasingly aged population. Craniotomy, twist-drill craniostomy, and burr-hole drainage and drain with or without irrigation are among the very first lines of its management.
Objectives
We used burr-hole drainage with drain versus burr-hole drainage with drain and irrigation to find out which method is better regarding the outcome of chronic subdural hematoma treatment.
Patients and Methods
a case-control study design was used to inspect retrospectively both techniques in 47 patients. Twenty-one patients were treated with burr-hole drainage with drain only, and 26 were treated with burr-hole drainage with drain and irrigation.
Results
We found no statistically different association between the two types of operations and their outcomes (P value= 0.083 and Pearson’s R Correlation= 0.029).
Conclusion
As long as there is no differences between the two techniques, irrigation is not necessary after burr-hole drainage of chronic subdural hematoma. It requires more time, more exposure of the patient to anesthetic agents, and increases the risk of both infection and pneumocephalus.