CONSERVATIVE MANAGEMENT OF EXTRADURAL HEMATOMAS - EFFECTS OF SKULL FRACTURES ON RESORPTION RATE

In conservative management of extradural haematomas (EDH), several mec hanisms were described to explain the resorption of the haematoma. One of these was the transfer of the clot into the epi cranial space thro ugh the skull fracture. In this study, the effects of skull fracture a nd associated intracranial lesions in the conservative management of E DH were investigated. Skull fracture and associated intracranial lesio ns were found in 71.11% and 51.1% of the patients, respectively. Resor ption rate was calculated using an original formula and it was 0.548 /- 0.227 in patients with skull fracture and 0.507 +/- 0.170 in patien ts with both skull fractures and additional intracranial lesions. Thes e rates were found to be significantly higher than in the patients wit hout fracture. In conclusion, in the patients with EDH planned to be m anaged conservatively, skull fracture and additional intracranial lesi ons must not be thought as risk factors, on the contrary, resorption o f the clot might be earlier than in the others.