The authors conducted a prospective comparative study on the recurrence rate of chronic subdural hematoma after the use of two different treatment modalities: burr-hole irrigation of the hematoma cavity with (Group A) and without closed-system drainage (Group B). Thirty-eight patients were studied. Patients were assigned to groups sequentially upon admission. There were no significant differences between the two groups for age, sex, preoperative hematoma volume, and density on computed tomographic scan. One patient in Group A (5%) suffered a recurrence as opposed to 6 in Group B (33%). The difference in recurrence rate between the two groups was statistically significant (p < 0.05). The authors conclude that closed-system drainage after burr-hole irrigation reduces the recurrence rate of chronic subdural hematoma.

The authors conducted a prospective comparative study on the recurrence rate of chronic subdural hematoma after the use of two different treatment modalities: burr-hole irrigation of the hematoma cavity with (Group A) and without closed-system drainage (Group B). Thirty-eight patients were studied. Patients were assigned to groups sequentially upon admission. There were no significant differences between the two groups for age, sex, preoperative hematoma volume, and density on computed tomographic scan. One patient in Group A (5%) suffered a recurrence as opposed to 6 in Group B (33%). The difference in recurrence rate between the two groups was statistically significant (P less than 0.05). The authors conclude that closed-system drainage after burr-hole irrigation reduces the recurrence rate of chronic subdural hematoma.

Among natural disasters, a lightning strike is a rare but potentially life-threatening phenomenon. If victims survive a cardiac arrest due to instantaneous passage of an exceptionally high voltage electric charge through the whole body, they may be afflicted with various complications such as muscle necrosis resulting in acute renal failure. In this article, we report a case of a 54-year-old man with acute rhabdomyolysis of the left soleus muscle associated with a lightning strike. T2-weighted and short-tau inversion recovery MR images showed a high signal intensity in the left soleus muscle. A whole-body bone scintigram showed abnormal uptakes in the left soleus muscle and the dorsal aspect of the left foot. MR and scintigraphic evaluations were very useful in depicting the site and extent of muscle damage. Since the patient showed a surprisingly high level of serum creatine kinase, the added information was very valuable for determining the patient's management.

We report a patient with unilateral agenesis of the internal carotid artery in whom the oculomotor nerve was paralyzed on the same side as the agenesis after a minor head injury. It is conceivable that the palsy was caused by sudden tension of the nerve between the petroclinoid ligament and the enlarged posterior communicating artery.