Friday, February, 10, 2012

Subdural hematoma

Table of Contents

Alternative Names

Subdural hemorrhage


Symptoms
  • Confused speech
  • Difficulty with balance or walking
  • Headache
  • Lethargy or confusion
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Numbness
  • Seizures
  • Slurred speech
  • Visual disturbances
  • Weakness

In infants:

  • Bulging fontanelles (the "soft spots" of the baby's skull)
  • Feeding difficulties
  • Focal seizures
  • Generalized tonic-clonic seizure
  • High-pitched cry
  • Increased head circumference
  • Increased sleepiness or lethargy
  • Irritability
  • Persistent vomiting
  • Separated sutures (the areas where growing skull bones join)

Signs and tests

Always get medical help after a head injury. Older persons should receive medical care if they shows signs of memory problems or mental decline. An exam should include a complete neurologic exam.

Your doctor may order a brain imaging study if you have any of the following symptoms:

  • Confused speech
  • Difficulty with balance or walking
  • Headache
  • Inability to speak
  • Lethargy or confusion
  • Loss of consciousness
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Numbness
  • Recent congitive decline in an elderly person, even without a history of brain injury
  • Seizures
  • Slurred speech
  • Visual disturbance
  • Weakness

A CT scan or MRI scan likely would be done to evaluate for the presence of a subdural hematoma.


Review Date: 06/28/2010
Reviewed By: Jacob L. Heller, MD, MHA, Emergency Medicine, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)