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Primary intracranial sarcoma masquerading as a chronic subdural haematoma: illustrative case and review of an unusual phenomenon

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Abstract

It is very unusual for a primary intracranial malignancy to present as a chronic subdural hematoma. This case report describes one such case in a 3-year-old girl who presented with raised intracranial pressure following a mild head injury. Imaging of her brain revealed bilateral chronic subdural hematomas with an enhancing subdural mass and multiple nodular lesions infiltrating the brain parenchyma. She underwent a craniotomy, drainage of the subdural collections and resection of the subdural mass. Histopathology revealed an undifferentiated sarcoma, and she was referred for adjuvant therapy. This case underlines the importance of evaluating paediatric subdural collections for a possible underlying malignancy, even in the background of a preceding head injury. The cause-effect relationship of sarcomas with subdural collections remains unclear because of the scarcity of available literature on the subject.

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Contributions

Vivek Raj and Sumit Thakar conceptualized the paper. Pavan Vasoya, Vivek Raj and Khurram Khan were involved in data curation (literature review), preparation of the Table and writing the original draft. Vivek Raj and Pavan Vasoya prepared Figures 1-3. Sumit Thakar and Saritha Aryan reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors reviewed the final manuscript prior to submission.

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Correspondence to Sumit Thakar.

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The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki. The manuscript has been prepared using guidelines laid down by the Institute with respect to retrospective case studies. Informed consent was obtained from the patient’s parents.

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The authors do not report any conflict of interest concerning the materials and methods used in this study or the findings specified in this paper.

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Vasoya, P., Raj, V., Khan, K. et al. Primary intracranial sarcoma masquerading as a chronic subdural haematoma: illustrative case and review of an unusual phenomenon. Childs Nerv Syst 39, 1957–1962 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-023-05919-y

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