Case presentation: We present the case of a 63-year-old North American Caucasian man with normal-pressure
hydrocephalus with an adjustable valve ventriculoperitoneal shunt who developed an acute subdural hematoma
after sustaining head trauma. Conservative treatment was favored over operative evacuation because our patient
was neurologically intact, but simple observation was considered to be too high risk in the setting of a
low-pressure ventriculoperitoneal shunt. Thus, the valve setting on the ventriculoperitoneal shunt was increased to
its maximum pressure setting in order to reduce flow through the shunt and to mildly increase intracranial pressure
in an attempt to tamponade any active bleeding and limit hematoma expansion. A repeat computed tomography
scan of the head six days after the valve adjustment revealed complete resolution of the acute subdural hematoma.
At this time, the valve pressure was reduced to its original setting to treat symptoms of normal-pressure
hydrocephalus.