Assessment of cognition in chronic subdural hematoma patients using MMSE in preoperative and postoperative periods

Abstract

BackgroundIn the elderly, chronic subdural hematoma and dementia, both common, cause impairment of cognitive function seen in the domains of memory and language. This study was performed among 36 chronic subdural hematoma patients to determine if their mini-mental status examination score improved after surgery. Materials and Methods36 chronic subdural hematoma patients underwent mini-mental status examination preoperatively and in the post-op period- on the 2nd post-op day and at discharge, i.e., 7th day. MMSE score was considered as the primary outcome variable. ResultsFrom this study, it is found that: most patients had dementia (50% of the study population), most patients who consumed alcohol were in the age group of 40–60 years, most patients who were on anticoagulants were in the age group of 55–70, and there were only 2 patients with a history of trauma. ConclusionPatients who had a better preoperatively scored well in the post-op period. Patients with a history of alcoholism and anticoagulant intake had lesser improvement in their post-op scoring. In the elderly, the post-op score was better when compared to the preop score. Chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) dementia is usually of the reversible type, and so, early neuroimaging evaluation is needed for timely intervention, and these patients have a good outcome by surgery.