Management of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms

Endovascular treatment of ruptured distal posterior inferior cerebellar artery aneurysms: report of 11 cases

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the clinical characteristics and endovascular treatment of ruptured distal posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) aneurysms.

METHODS

11 consecutive patients (7 women, 4 men, mean age of 49.2 years) with ruptured distal PICA aneurysms were studied retrospectively. All had onset of acute intraventricular or cerebellar haemorrhage, and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Hunt-Hess (HH) grades were H-H I in 1 patient, H-H II in 5 patients, H-H 111 in 4 patients and H-H IV in 1 patient on admission.

RESULTS

All patients were treated by endovascular treatment, seven cases got endosaccular coiling and four cases got parent artery occlusion at the same time. All the patients were followed up one to four years. Recurrences occurred in 1 patient two years post-treatment, and were successfully retreated by endosaccular coiling and parent artery occlusion. The occluded PICA was recanalized one year post-treatment but without any growth of the aneurysm in one case. One year post-treatment, 2 patients had a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 0, 8 patients had a mRS score of 1 and 1 patient had a mRS score of 2.

CONCLUSIONS

Coiling of ruptured distal PICA aneury, with or without parent vessel occlusion, was feasible, relatively safe and effective in preventing early/medium-term rebleeding. A strict angiographic follow-up, however, was necessary to detect recurrence.

Observer agreement regarding the necessity of retreatment of previously coiled recurrent cerebral aneurysms

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The decision regarding whether or not to retreat a previously treated aneurysm not only directly impacts patient care but also serves as a primary outcome measure in numerous, leading randomized controlled trials of modified coils. Our aim was to determine the degree of interobserver variability regarding the need and type of treatment for recurrent aneurysms following coil embolization.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty-seven previously treated recurrent aneurysms were identified. Five independent readers rated each aneurysm on a 5-point scale: 1, definitely do not retreat; 2, probably do not retreat; 3, unsure; 4, probably retreat; and 5, definitely retreat. The readers noted, in grades 2-5, the type of retreatment preferred, including simple coiling, balloon- or stent-assist coiling, or surgical clipping. Intraobserver agreement κ was calculated. Retreatment recommendations were evaluated between observers by using a Wilcoxon signed rank comparison. Descriptive statistics were performed for categoric treatment-type comparisons.

RESULTS

At least 2- or 3-point differences between 2 readers were present in 17 (63%) and 11 (41%) of 27 cases, respectively. The median κ was 0.27 (range, 0.04-0.43), which indicates fair agreement. Differences between readers varied, with readers 4 and 5 more often recommending retreatment compared with reviewers 1-3 (P < .05). Wide variation was noted in treatment approach, with recommendations for surgical clipping ranging from 2 (7%) to 18 (67%) of 27 cases between readers 1 and 5.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study demonstrates substantial variability among observers not only in whether to retreat a recurrent aneurysm but also how to treat it. These findings suggest that patient management varies widely across treating physicians and also calls into question the use of "retreatment" as an objective end point in clinical trials.

Neurointerventional procedures for unruptured intracranial aneurysms under procedural sedation and local anesthesia: a large-volume, single-center experience

Object

In this paper, the authors' goal was to report the outcome of patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms undergoing endovascular treatment under conscious sedation (local anesthesia).

Methods

Between November 5, 2001, and February 5, 2009, the authors treated 340 patients with 358 unruptured aneurysms by using neurointerventional procedures at Millard Fillmore Gates Hospital (Buffalo, New York). The data were retrospectively reviewed for periprocedural safety and long-term follow-up.

Results

A total of 496 procedures were performed under local anesthesia. Of those, 370 procedures (74.6%) were completed successfully. In 82 procedures (16.5%), an associated medical or technical event occurred. Forty-four procedures (8.9%) were aborted. Rates of overall procedure-related morbidity and mortality were 1.2% (6 of 496) and 0.6% (3 of 496), respectively. The average hospital stay was 1.5 ± 2.5 days. Long-term follow-up was available in 261 (82.1%) of 318 patients whose procedures were performed with local anesthesia. Of those, 246 patients (94.3%) had a good outcome (modified Rankin Scale score ≤ 2), 6 patients (2.3%) had an unfavorable outcome, not related to the procedure, and 9 patients (3.4%) had a poor outcome (modified Rankin Scale score > 2) as a result of the intervention.

Conclusions

Interventional treatment under conscious sedation (local anesthesia) can be effectively performed in most patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms and is associated with a short hospital stay and low morbidity and mortality.