{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]],"date-time":"2026-03-20T15:06:14Z","timestamp":1774019174108,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Scientific Scholar","content-domain":{"domain":["surgicalneurologyint.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"\n Background:<\/jats:title>\n Subdural hematoma (SDH) is a common neurosurgical pathology, typically managed surgically in symptomatic cases. We aimed compare postoperative outcomes between subdural and subgaleal drain placements in SDH patients at single Scottish neurosurgical centre.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods:<\/jats:title>\n Retrospective chart review of all non-acute SDH cases undergoing surgery between October 2022 and August 2024 undertaken. Patients were identified using ICD-10 codes and confirmed via electronic records. Their post-operative course, and the length of stay were compared between the two drain types.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results:<\/jats:title>\n Among the 55 SDH cases, 48 (87.3%) were males and 7 (12.7%) females. The mean age was 75 years (range 22-87, SD=10.93). Nine (16.4%) cases were subacute, 15 (27.3%) acute-on-chronic, and 31 (56.4%) were chronic. Forty one patients (74.5%) underwent unilateral burr hole evacuation, 6 (10.9%) had bilateral hematoma evacuation and 7 (12.7%) had mini-craniotomy. Only 1 (1.8%) patient had a standard craniotomy. Among these, 23 (41.8%) had subgaleal and 32 (58.2%) had subdural drains. Mean drain duration was 2 days (range 1-4, SD 0.52). Post-op complications included hematoma recurrence (20%), infections (7.3%), seizures (14.5%), pneumocephalus (73.5%) and scalp swelling (3.6%). One post-op death occurred. The median hospital stay was 7 days, with mean modified Rankin Scale at discharge of 2.5. No statistically significant differences were observed in recurrence (OR=0.76, p=0.75), infections (OR=0.45, p=0.63), pneumocephalus (OR=1.27, p=0.76), seizures (OR=0.17, p=0.12), or length of hospital stay (Z=-1.47, p=0.14) between the two drain types.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion:<\/jats:title>\n Subdural and subgaleal drains yielded no significant differences in the rates of recurrence, postoperative infections, and length of hospital stay in this cohort.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.25259\/sni_1146_2025","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]],"date-time":"2026-03-20T13:33:14Z","timestamp":1774013594000},"page":"161","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.25259\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Subdural versus subgaleal drains: Impact on postoperative complications and length of stay following subdural hematoma evacuation"],"prefix":"10.25259","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Adam","family":"Vacek","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Madeline","family":"Hawkins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kiara","family":"Garg","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Aberdeen University Medical School, Aberdeen, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Kashif","family":"Majeed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, United Kingdom"},{"name":"Nuffield Department of Surgical Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Mohit","family":"Arora","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Neurosurgery, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, Aberdeen, United Kingdom"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"10894","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"10.25259\/SNI_1146_2025\/ref-1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e12417","DOI":"10.1002\/dad2.12417","article-title":"Generalizability of cognitive results from clinical trial participants to an older adult population: Addressing external validity","volume":"15","author":"Aslanyan","year":"2023","journal-title":"Alzheimers Dement (Amst)"},{"key":"10.25259\/SNI_1146_2025\/ref-2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2711","DOI":"10.1007\/s00701-020-04577-2","article-title":"Early insertion of the subdural drain during chronic subdural hematoma surgery: In response to \u201cDrain type and technique for subdural insertion after burr hole evacuation of chronic subdural hematoma\u201d by TSR Jensen et al. 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