Quality Improvement Guidelines for Adult Diagnostic Cervicocerebral Angiography: Update Cooperative Study between the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR), American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR), and Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery (SNIS)

Incidence, Clinical Significance, and Longitudinal Signal Characteristics of Ischemic Lesions Related to Diagnostic Cerebral Catheter Angiography

PURPOSE

Cerebral DSA is a routine procedure with few complications. However, it is associated with presumably clinically inapparent lesions detectable on diffusion-weighted MRI imaging (DWI lesions). However, there are insufficient data regarding incidence, etiology, clinical relevance, and longitudinal development of these lesions. This study prospectively evaluated subjects undergoing elective diagnostic cerebral DSA for the occurrence of DWI lesions, potentially associated clinical symptoms and risk factors, and longitudinally monitored the lesions using state-of-the-art MRI.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Eighty-two subjects were examined by high-resolution MRI within 24 h after elective diagnostic DSA and lesion occurrence was qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated. Subjects' neurological status was assessed before and after DSA by clinical neurological examination and a perceived deficit questionnaire. Patient-related risk factors and procedural DSA data were documented. Subjects with lesions received a follow-up MRI and were questioned for neurological deficits after a median of 5.1 months.

RESULTS

After DSA, 23(28%) subjects had a total of 54 DWI lesions. Significantly associated risk factors were number of vessels probed, intervention time, age, arterial hypertension, visible calcified plaques, and less examiner experience. Twenty percent of baseline lesions converted to persistent FLAIR lesions at follow-up. After DSA, none of the subjects had a clinically apparent neurological deficit. Self-perceived deficits were nonsignificantly higher at follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Cerebral DSA is associated with a considerable number of postinterventional lesions, some persisting as scars in brain tissue. Presumably because of the small lesion size and inconsistent location, no clinically apparent neurological deficits have been observed. However, subtle self-perceived changes may occur. Therefore, special attention is needed to minimize avoidable risk factors.

The role of combined computed tomographic angiography and digital subtraction angiography in the management of cervico-facial vascular lesions

Background

Cervicofacial vascular lesions are one of the most challenging diseases managed by intervention radiologists and specialized surgeons. These lesions were diagnosed to be vascular in origin by other imaging techniques such as Duplex and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). All patients underwent computed tomographic angiography (CTA) to confirm the diagnosis as well as to decide the most effective choice of management based on multidisciplinary team (MDT). Then, Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) was done as it is offering an accurate vascular map for the vascular lesions which is inevitable for successful super-selective endovascular embolization which can be done at same sitting. Small cases of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) were sufficiently managed by only embolization, whereas cases of adequately embolized large AVMs as well as juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) cases were followed by surgery with the advantage of less blood loss and decreasing operation time as well as complications. This prospective study was done to highlight the role of combined CTA and DSA in cervicofacial vascular lesion management.

Results

Twenty patients were included in our study: 16 patients were males, and 4 were females; 17 of them were under 40 years, and three were above 40 years. Preoperative embolization was done in 12 patients, which were all the cases of JNAs and large AVMs. Four patients were managed by only embolization as a definitive treatment. Complete technical success rate was about 94%, while only 6% (single case) of the partial technical success rate which was due to a very small accessory feeder that could not be catheterized even with repeated trials.

Conclusions

Combined CTA and DSA is the cornerstone for managing vascular lesions in the cervicofacial region, which necessitates a MDT to decide the most beneficial and least complicated way for management.

Adherence to the RIGHT statement in Society of Interventional Radiology guidelines

Context

The Reporting Items for Practice Guidelines in Health Care (RIGHT) Statement was developed by a multidisciplinary team of experts to improve reporting quality and transparency in clinical practice guideline development.

Objective

To assess the quality of reporting in clinical practice guidelines put forth by the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) and their adherence to the RIGHT statement checklist.

Methods

In March 2018, using the 22 criteria listed in the RIGHT statement, two researchers independently documented adherence to each item for all eligible guidelines listed by the SIR by reading through each guideline and using the RIGHT statement elaboration and explanation document as a guide to determine if each item was appropriately addressed as listed in the checklist. To qualify for inclusion in this study, each guideline must have met the strict definition for a clinical practice guideline as set forth by the National Institute of Health and the Institute of Medicine, meaning they were informed by a systematic review of evidence and intended to direct patient care and physician decisions. Guidelines were excluded if they were identified as consensus statements, position statements, reporting standards, and training standards or guidelines. After exclusion criteria were applied, the two researchers scored each of the remaining clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) using a prespecified abstraction Google form that reflected the RIGHT statement checklist (22 criteria; 35 items inclusive of subset questions). Each item on the abstraction form consisted of a “yes/no” option; each item on the RIGHT checklist was recorded as “yes” if it was included in the guideline and “no” if it was not. Each checklist item was weighed equally. Partial adherence to checklist items was recorded as “no.” Data were extracted into Microsoft Excel (Microsoft Corporation) for statistical analysis.

Results

The initial search results yielded 129 CPGs in the following areas: 13 of the guidelines were in the field of interventional oncology; 16 in neurovascular disorders; five in nonvascular interventions; four in pediatrics; 25 in peripheral, arterial, and aortic disease; one in cardiac; one in portal and mesenteric vascular disease; 37 in practice development and safety; three in spine and musculoskeletal disorders; 14 in venous disease; five in renal failure/hemodialysis; and five in women’s health. Of the 46 guidelines deemed eligible for evaluation by the RIGHT checklist, 12 of the checklist items showed less than 25% adherence and 13 showed more than 75% adherence. Of 35 individual RIGHT statement checklist items, adherence was found for a mean (SD) of 22.9 items (16.3). The median number of items with adherence was 21 (interquartile range, 7.5–38).

Conclusion

The quality of reporting in interventional radiology guidelines is lacking in several key areas, including whether patient preferences were considered, whether costs and resources were considered, the strength of the recommendations, and the certainty of the body of evidence. Poor adherence to the RIGHT statement checklist in these guidelines reveals many areas for improvement in guideline reporting.

Simulation Training in Neuroangiography: Transfer to Reality

PURPOSE

Endovascular simulation is an established and validated training method, but there is still no proof of direct patient's benefit, defined as lower complication rate. In this study, the impact of such a training was investigated for rehearsal of patient-specific cases as well as for a structured simulation curriculum to teach angiographer novices.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A total of 40 patients undergoing a diagnostic neuroangiography were randomized in a training and control group. In all training group patients, the angiographer received a patient-anatomy-specific rehearsal on a high-fidelity simulator prior to the real angiography. Radiation exposure, total duration, fluoroscopy time and amount of contrast agent of the real angiography were recorded. Silent cerebral ischemia was counted by magnetic resonance diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Additionally, the first 30 diagnostic neuroangiographies of six novices were compared (n_total = 180). Three novices had undergone a structured simulation curriculum; three had acquired angiographic skills without simulation.

RESULTS

No differences were found in the number of DWI lesions or in other quality measures of the angiographies performed with and without patient-specific rehearsal. A structured simulation curriculum for angiographer novices reduced fluoroscopy time significantly and radiation exposure. The curriculum had no influence on the total duration of the examination, the amount of contrast medium or the number of catheters used.

CONCLUSION

There was no measurable benefit of patient-anatomy-specific rehearsal for an unselected patient cohort. A structured simulation-based curriculum to teach angiographic skills resulted in a reduction of fluoroscopy time and radiation dose in the first real angiographies of novice angiographers.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level 4, part 1: randomized trial, part 2: historically controlled study.

A novel protocol for three-dimensional rotational venography with low-dose contrast media in preoperative angiography of brain tumours

AIM

The most appropriate imaging protocol for three-dimensional rotational venography (3D RV) has not been established. The aim of this study was to optimise the protocol for 3D RV with low-dose contrast media using time-density curve analysis.

METHODS

Twenty-five consecutive patients with brain tumours who received preoperative assessment with 3D RV were retrospectively collected and included in this study. To optimise the imaging delay time of 3D RV with low-dose contrast media, time-density curve analysis was performed on two-dimensional conventional angiography. The image quality for depicting cortical veins and venous sinuses was compared to that of magnetic resonance (MR) venography in five cases.

RESULTS

A total of 27 3D RVs were performed in 25 patients. The time-density curves of cortical veins were different from those of cerebral arteries or sinuses. The mean time to peak of cortical veins was significantly longer than the time to peak of cerebral arteries (2.47 ± 0.35 seconds vs. 6.44 ± 1.14 seconds; p < 0.0001) and shorter than the time to peak of venous sinuses (6.44 ± 1.14 seconds vs. 8.18 ± 1.12 seconds; p < 0.0001). The optimal imaging delay time could be determined as the phases in which cortical arterial opacities disappeared and cortical veins started to appear. The mean dose of injected contrast media was 5.3 mL. The image quality of cortical veins in 3D RV was superior to that in MR venography in all cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Three-dimensional RV with low-dose contrast media was useful for the preoperative assessment of cortical veins in patients with brain tumours.

Comparison of practical methods in clinical sites for estimating cerebral blood flow during balloon test occlusion

OBJECTIVE

The authors sought to compare methods of measurement for venous phase delay (VPD) or mean stump pressure (MSTP) to rank their potential to predict ischemic tolerance during balloon test occlusion in the internal carotid artery, exploring a more correlative and convenient way to measure cerebral blood flow (CBF) that could be utilized even in the acute phase or in institutions not adequately equipped to measure CBF during the test.

METHODS

X-ray angiography perfusion analysis using diagnostic digital subtraction angiography (DSA) equipment enables 1-step examination (without any room-to-room transfer of patients) to measure CBF, VPD, and MSTP completely simultaneously, which has not been accomplished by any previous perfusion studies.

RESULTS

This analysis was applied to 17 patients and resulted in successful estimation of all 3 parameters in each case. The average VPD of several cortical veins had a strong correlation with relative CBF (rCBF) between bilateral hemispheres with a correlation coefficient of 0.89443, a correlation as strong as that (0.90357) of the "approximate VPD," which is interpreted based on the trend line of the scatterplot of the time to peak contrast opacification in cortical veins and their spatial positioning from the median sagittal plane. MSTP and classic visual determination of VPD have weaker correlation coefficients with rCBF (0.56119 and 0.70048, respectively). Overall, subjective visual determination in combination with the calculation of the trend line to estimate VPD provided a considerably strong correlation with rCBF (R = 0.86660) without any dedicated software or hardware.

CONCLUSIONS

VPD has a stronger correlation with rCBF than MSTP. rCBF could be successfully predicted on common DSA equipment, even by visual determination without expensive software, if the trend line is adopted for processing to estimate VPD.

Training Standards in Neuroendovascular Surgery: Program Accreditation and Practitioner Certification

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Neuroendovascular surgery is a medical subspecialty that uses minimally invasive catheter-based technology and radiological imaging to diagnose and treat diseases of the central nervous system, head, neck, spine, and their vasculature. To perform these procedures, the practitioner needs an extensive knowledge of the anatomy of the nervous system, vasculature, and pathological conditions that affect their physiology. A working knowledge of radiation biology and safety is essential. Similarly, a sufficient volume of clinical and interventional experience, first as a trainee and then as a practitioner, is required so that these treatments can be delivered safely and effectively.

METHODS

This document has been prepared under the aegis of the Society of Neurological Surgeons and its Committee for Advanced Subspecialty Training in conjunction with the Joint Section of Cerebrovascular Surgery for the American Association of Neurological Surgeons and Congress of Neurological Surgeons, the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery, and the Society of Vascular and Interventional Neurology.

RESULTS

The material herein outlines the requirements for institutional accreditation of training programs in neuroendovascular surgery, as well as those needed to obtain individual subspecialty certification, as agreed on by Committee for Advanced Subspecialty Training, the Society of Neurological Surgeons, and the aforementioned Societies. This document also clarifies the pathway to certification through an advanced practice track mechanism for those current practitioners of this subspecialty who trained before Committee for Advanced Subspecialty Training standards were formulated.

CONCLUSIONS

Representing neuroendovascular surgery physicians from neurosurgery, neuroradiology, and neurology, the above mentioned societies seek to standardize neuroendovascular surgery training to ensure the highest quality delivery of this subspecialty within the United States.

Interventional Radiology Clinical Practice Guideline Recommendations for Neurovascular Disorders Are Not Based on High-Quality Systematic Reviews

BACKGROUND

In recent years, clinical practice guidelines have been criticized for biased interpretations of research evidence, and interventional radiology is no exception.

PURPOSE

Our aim was to evaluate the methodologic quality and transparency of reporting in systematic reviews used as evidence in interventional radiology clinical practice guidelines for neurovascular disorders from the Society of Interventional Radiology.

DATA SOURCES

Our sources were 9 neurovascular disorder clinical practice guidelines from the Society of Interventional Radiology.

STUDY SELECTION

We selected 65 systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

DATA ANALYSIS

A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) tools were used to assess the methodologic quality and reporting transparency of systematic reviews. Radial plots were created on the basis of average scores for PRISMA and AMSTAR items.

DATA SYNTHESIS

On the basis of AMSTAR scores, 3 (4.62%) reviews were high-quality, 28 reviews (43.08%) were moderate-quality, and 34 reviews (52.31%) were low-quality, with an average quality score of 3.66 (34.32%; minimum, 0%; maximum, 81.82%). The average PRISMA score was 18.18 (69.41%).

LIMITATIONS

We were unable to obtain previous versions for 8 reviews, 7 of which were from the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

CONCLUSIONS

The methodologic quality of systematic reviews needs to be improved. Although reporting clarity was much better than the methodologic quality, it still has room for improvement. The methodologic quality and transparency of reporting did not vary much among clinical practice guidelines. This study can also be applied to other medical specialties to examine the quality of studies used as evidence in their own clinical practice guidelines.

ART 3.5D: an algorithm to label arteries and veins from three-dimensional angiography

Preoperative three-dimensional (3-D) visualization of brain vasculature by digital subtraction angiography from computerized tomography (CT) in neurosurgery is gaining more and more importance, since vessels are the primary landmarks both for organs at risk and for navigation. Surgical embolization of cerebral aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations, epilepsy surgery, and stereoelectroencephalography are a few examples. Contrast-enhanced cone-beam computed tomography (CE-CBCT) represents a powerful facility, since it is capable of acquiring images in the operation room, shortly before surgery. However, standard 3-D reconstructions do not provide a direct distinction between arteries and veins, which is of utmost importance and is left to the surgeon's inference so far. Pioneering attempts by true four-dimensional (4-D) CT perfusion scans were already described, though at the expense of longer acquisition protocols, higher dosages, and sensible resolution losses. Hence, space is open to approaches attempting to recover the contrast dynamics from standard CE-CBCT, on the basis of anomalies overlooked in the standard 3-D approach. This paper aims at presenting algebraic reconstruction technique (ART) 3.5D, a method that overcomes the clinical limitations of 4-D CT, from standard 3-D CE-CBCT scans. The strategy works on the 3-D angiography, previously segmented in the standard way, and reprocesses the dynamics hidden in the raw data to recover an approximate dynamics in each segmented voxel. Next, a classification algorithm labels the angiographic voxels and artery or vein. Numerical simulations were performed on a digital phantom of a simplified 3-D vasculature with contrast transit. CE-CBCT projections were simulated and used for ART 3.5D testing. We achieved up to 90% classification accuracy in simulations, proving the feasibility of the presented approach for dynamic information recovery for arteries and veins segmentation.