Acute on chronic bilateral subdural hematoma presenting with acute complete flaccid paraplegia and urinary retention mimicking an acute spinal cord injury: a case report

BACKGROUND: A subdural hematoma refers to a collection of blood between the dura and the arachnoid membranes and is classified into acute, sub acute and chronic. Subdural hematoma has been referred to as the “great neurologic imitator” as it can mimic many neurological conditions. CASE PRESENTATION: Forty-three year old Sri Lankan female presented 2 weeks following traumatic head injury with bilateral flaccid complete paraplegia and urinary retention. Her non-contrast computer tomography of the brain revealed bilateral acute, chronic subdural hematomas. Both subdural hematomas were aspirated and she recovered completely. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic subdural hematoma can present in many different unusual ways including bilateral complete paraplegia and acute urinary retention mimicking acute spinal cord pathology. The exact mechanism of this clinical presentation is not clear and may be due to direct compression of the motor cortex to the falx or due to compression of the anterior cerebral artery due to subfalcine herniation. This case illustrates the importance of considering subdural hematoma as a rare cause for acute paraplegia and the importance of performing a computer tomography scan in traumatic brain injury when indicated. Failure to consider non-spinal causes of paraplegia results in potential mismanagement. According to our knowledge this is the first case report of acute on chronic subdural hematoma presenting as acute flaccid complete paraplegia with urinary retention.