Reduced temporal muscle thickness predicts shorter survival in patients undergoing chronic subdural haematoma drainage

Abstract Background Chronic subdural haematoma (CSDH) drainage is a common neurosurgical procedure. CSDHs cause excess mortality, which is exacerbated by frailty. Sarcopenia contributes to frailty – its key component, low muscle mass, can be assessed using cross‐sectional imaging. We aimed to examine the prognostic role of temporal muscle thickness (TMT) measured from preoperative computed tomography head scans among patients undergoing surgical CSDH drainage. Methods We retrospectively identified all patients who underwent CSDH drainage within 1 year of February 2019. We measured their mean TMT from preoperative computed tomography scans, tested the reliability of these measurements, and evaluated their prognostic value for postoperative survival. Results One hundred and eighty‐eight (122, 65% males) patients (median age 78 years, IQR 70–85 years) were included. Thirty‐four (18%) patients died within 2 years, and 51 (27%) died at a median follow‐up of 39 months (IQR 34–42 months). Intra‐ and inter‐observer reliability of TMT measurements was good‐to‐excellent (ICC 0.85–0.97, P