ABSTRACT
Objective To study the CT manifestations of delayed traumatic hematomas of the brain and evaluate their diagnostic significance in predicting the delayed traumatic brain hematoma. Methods The manifestations of initial CT studies and follow-up CT examinations of 31 delayed traumatic brain hematomas were analyzed. Another 50 CT studies of head trauma without delayed brain hematomas were included randomly as control. Results The abnormal findings of CT studies of the 31 delayed traumatic brain hematomas included: (1)Decreased density of the local brain parenchyma and disappeared difference between gray and white matter of the same area in 18 cases; (2)Local subarachnoid space hemorrhage in 24 cases; (3)Slight mass effect of local brain parenchyma in 16 cases. (4)Subdural hematoma in 9 cases. The locations of the abnormalities were roughly the same with the delayed hematoma except one local subarachnoid space hemorrhage, which was in the opposite of the delayed hematoma. The appearing rate of those abnormal findings in the control group was low and the difference was statistically significant. Conclusion The decrease of density of local brain parenchyma, the disappeared difference between the gray and white matter, local subarachnoid space hemorrhage, and local swollen of brain presented in the initial CT study of the patient with head trauma should be taken as indicators of delayed hemorrhage of the same area of brain, and it is necessary to do follow-up CT studies to exclude it.