This Article  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Albert N. Martins, MD
Washington, DC

Arch Neurol. 1975;32(1):69.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

We are indebted to Drs. Bender and Christoff for their provocative contribution. It does "... seem a radical departure from convention..." to treat some subdural hematomas nonoperatively. Whether or not it "... actually represents progress..." cannot be determined from their study.

Given the observation that some subdural hematomas resolve without surgery, it does not necessarily follow that nonoperative intervention is the initial treatment of choice in all minimally symptomatic patients. It must also be shown that delaying surgery in favor of ineffective nonoperative treatment does not increase mortality and morbidity. Failing this, one must be able to identify at the outset those individuals who will not respond to medical management. The paper of Drs. Bender and Christoff does not provide this information.

Being advocates of an unorthodox treatment, Drs. Bender and Christoff must bear the burden of proving to us that nonoperative treatment for patients minimally ill with subdural hematoma is at . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?