Epidemiological Analysis of Surgically Treated Acute Traumatic Epidural Hematoma

This study is a retrospective analysis of demographic, clinical, radiological and outcome data of surgically treated acute traumatic epidural hematomas. Forty-six consecutive cases of epidural hematomas were operated at the University Hospital Center of Yaoundé, Cameroon, between February 2006 and December 2013. The mean age was 29.56 years and63.04% of patients were between 21 and 30 years. Almost 94% of patients were males. Thirty-five percent of patients were motorcycle riders. Road traffic accident was the cause in 70% of cases. Mean time between head trauma and surgical evacuation was 78 hours. Head trauma was moderate in 52.17%. Initial loss of consciousness was found in 78.26% and lucid interval in 65.23%. Seventy-four percent of patients had signs of intracranial hypertension on admission, 35% had at least one neurologic focal sign and 50% had a scalp wound. Eight patients (17.39%) presented with unilateral or bilateral mydriasis. On computed tomography, the hematoma was on the left side in 60.86% of patients and frontal-parietal location was the most frequent. Computed tomography showed mass effect in 97.82% of patients. The most frequent surgical procedure was craniotomy. Six (13.04%) patients died, but 82.60% recovered fully (GOS 5). In Cameroon, traumatic acute epidural hematoma affects primarily healthy young men in their twenties and thirties. Road traffic accidents are the main etiology. Most patients had moderate head trauma and presented with intracranial hypertension. Early surgery is rarely done. Nevertheless, even with delayed surgery, most patients have good outcome.