Risk Factors in Chronic Subdural Hematoma: Comparison of Irrigation with Artificial Cerebrospinal Fluid and Normal Saline in a Cohort Analysis

BACKGROUND: Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is known to have a substantial recurrence rate. Artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACF) is an effective irrigation solution in general open craniotomy and endoneurosurgery, but no evidence of its use in burr-hole surgery exists. OBJECTIVE: To identify the potential of ACF irrigation to prevent CSDH recurrence. More specifically, to investigate the perioperative and intraoperative prognostic factors, and to identify controllable ones. METHODS: To examine various prognostic factors, 120 consecutive patients with unilateral CSDH treated with burr-hole drainage between September 2007 and March 2013 were analyzed. Intraoperative irrigation was performed with one of two irrigation solutions: normal saline (NS; n = 60) or ACF (n = 60). All patients were followed-up for at least 6 months postoperatively. We also examined the morphological alternations of the hematoma outer membranes after incubation with different solutions. RESULTS: Eleven patients (9.2%) had recurrence. Nine patients (15%) required additional surgery in the NS group, whereas only 2 patients (3.3%) in the ACF group required additional surgery. Among preoperative and intraoperative data, age (<80 years old, P = .044), thrombocyte (>22.0, P = .037), laterality (right, P = .03), and irrigation solution (ACF, P = .027) were related to smaller recurrence rates by log-rank tests. Only the type of irrigation solution used significantly correlated with recurrence in favor of ACF in both Cox proportional hazards (relative hazard: 0.20, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.04–0.99; P = .049) and logistic regression models (odds ratio, 0.17, 95% CI: 0.03–0.92; P = .04) using these factors. Histological examinations of the hematoma membranes showed that the membranes incubated with NS were loose and infiltrated by inflammatory cells compared with those incubated with ACF. CONCLUSION: Irrigation with ACF decreased the rate of CSDH recurrence.