LAUSR

Purpose The non-operative management of extradural hemorrhage in the pediatric age group has been increasingly considered in the last decade with good clinical outcomes and comparable results to surgical intervention in carefully selected patients. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the outcome of observation in the management of pediatric patients with extra dural hematoma. Patients and methods All consecutive pediatric patients with traumatic EDH after TBI who were presented to a single neurosurgical institution between January, 2008 and November, 2018 were retrospectively reviewed. Mechanism of injury, Glasgow coma scale (GCS) on admission, presenting neurological examination, treatment modality, the first and last imaging findings, and outcome were analyzed. The outcome was measured using the Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) on discharge from the hospital. Results A total of 83 patients were identified. The median age was 7.1 years (0.8–14 years) and 67% of the patients were male ( n  = 56). The median thickness of acute EDH was 1.1 cm (0.2–2.6 cm). 44 patients were managed conservatively with a close observation at a specialized neurotrauma unit for any clinical deterioration, and the remaining 39 patients were managed surgically. There was no significant difference in the patients age, hematoma thickness, presence of skull fractures, systemic injuries, and other types of cerebral injuries between the two groups. The presenting GCS was significantly lower in the surgical group which reflects the severity of the injury. Hospital stay was significantly longer among the surgical group, and the GOS was significantly better in the non-surgical group. The majority of the surgical group showed complete resolution of the hematoma on discharge, while only 50% of the non-surgical patients ( n  = 22) had a complete resolution of the hematoma one month after the TBI. Conclusion The conservative management is applicable in carefully selected pediatric patients with acute traumatic extradural hematoma provided that the observation is accomplished in a well-established and equipped neurosurgical unit. These results are congruent with similar earlier studies.