Cerebral atrophy is associated with development of chronic subdural haematoma.

OBJECTIVE: To test that cerebral atrophy is associated with increased risk for development of chronic subdural haematoma (cSDH), this study performed volumetric analysis of computed tomography (CT) brain scans from patients who were diagnosed with cSDH on subsequent CT scans and their age-matched controls.

METHODS: Volumetric analysis was performed on CT scans acquired a mean of 209 days prior to cSDH diagnosis in 19 patients. Cerebral atrophy present on these scans was then compared to 76 age-matched control patients randomly selected from cSDH-free subjects.

RESULTS: There was a higher degree of atrophy in cSDH patients (n = 19, 14.3% ± 5.4%) than in age-matched control patients (n = 76, 11.9% ± 5.5%; p = 0.044). Logistical regression demonstrated that atrophy was found to be a significant predictor of cSDH at all ages (OR = 1.11, 95% CI = [1.01, 1.23], p = 0.05). For younger subjects ≤65 years of age (n = 50), atrophy was an even stronger predictor of cSDH (OR = 1.17, 95% CI = [1.02, 1.34], p = 0.026).

CONCLUSIONS: Cerebral atrophy is associated with the development of cSDH and this association is greater in patients ≤65 years of age.