TraumaDelayed magnetic resonance imaging with Gd-DTPA differentiates subdural hygroma and subdural effusion
Section snippets
Materials and methods
This study included 15 patients (six men and nine women) aged between 50 and 87 years. Diagnoses were confirmed by CT findings of low density areas and T1-weighted MR imaging findings of low signal intensity areas. All patients had definite histories of head injury or craniotomy. Informed consent was obtained from each patient. This study was approved by our institution’s Scientific Review Board. Three patients had unilateral subdural hygroma and one had bilateral subdural hygromas. Nine
Results
Table 1 summarizes the clinical, CT, and CT cisternography findings in patients with posttraumatic subdural hygromas and subdural effusions. The mean volumes of the subdural hygromas and subdural effusions were 51 ± 14 mL and 59 ± 8 mL, respectively, without significant difference. The mean Hounsfield number of subdural hygromas was 16.1 ± 1.2, significantly lower than that of subdural effusions at 23.1 ± 2.7 (p < 0.05). CT cisternography showed contrast medium in the subdural fluid of all
Discussion
This study found that the Hounsfield number and signal intensity on T1-weighted MR imaging of subdural effusions were significantly higher than those of subdural hygromas. Subdural effusions usually contain xanthochromic fluid, and the protein content is higher than that of the CSF in subdural hygromas [6]. However, the differences in CT number and MR imaging signal intensity are not specific enough to differentiate these two conditions. The key points to differentiate these two clinical
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