Reliable detection of epidural haematomas

Editor—We thank Dr Meikle and colleagues for their informativearticle on the detection and management of epidural haematomas¹and we agree with the suggestion in the allied editorial² thatthe true incidence of haematomas is much higher than one every2 yr in the UK. At our institution, we have a high rate of electiveepidural insertion and in the last 6 months there have beentwo cases that highlight the difficulties in this area of practice.First, a patient developed an epidural haematoma which remainedundetected for more than 24 h, and was