General anesthesia or conscious sedation for endovascular therapy of basilar artery occlusions: ETIS registry results

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Acute basilar artery occlusions (BAO) are associated with poor outcome despite modern endovascular treatment (EVT). The best anesthetic management during EVT is not known and may affect the procedure and clinical outcome. We compared the efficacy and safety of general anesthesia (GA) and conscious sedation/local anesthesia (CS/LA) in a large cohort of stroke patients with BAO treated with EVT in current clinical practice.

METHODS

Data from the ongoing prospective multicenter Endovascular Treatment In Ischemic Stroke Registry of consecutive acute BAO patients who had EVT indication from January 1st, 2015, to December 31st, 2021, were retrospectively analyzed. Two groups were compared: patients treated with CS/LA versus GA (both types of anesthesia being performed in the angiosuite). Good outcome was defined as modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score 0-3 at 90 days.

RESULTS

Among the 524 included patients, 266 had GA and 246 had CS/LA (67 LA). Fifty-three patients finally did not undergo EVT: 15 patients (5.9%) in the GA group and 38 patients (16.1%) in the CS/LA group (P < 0.001). After matching, two groups of 129 patients each were retained for primary analysis. The two groups were well balanced in terms of baseline characteristics. After adjustment, CS/LA compared to GA was not associated with good outcome (OR=0.90 [95%CI 0.46-1.77] P=0.769) or mortality (OR=0.75 [0.37-1.49] P=0.420) or modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction score 2b-3 (OR=0.43 [0.16-1.16] P=0.098). On mixed ordinal logistic regression, the modality of anesthesia was not associated with any significant change in the overall distribution of the 90-day mRS (adjusted OR=1.08 [0.62-1.88] P=0.767).

CONCLUSIONS

Safety, outcome and quality of EVT under either CS/LA or GA for stroke due to acute BAO appear similar. Further randomized trials are warranted.

Assessment of 4D MR Angiography at 3T Compared with DSA for the Follow-up of Embolized Brain Dural Arteriovenous Fistula: A Dual-Center Study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

4D contrast-enhanced MRA in the follow-up of treated dural arteriovenous fistulas has rarely been evaluated. Our aim was to evaluate its diagnostic performance at 3T in the follow-up of embolized dural arteriovenous fistulas using DSA as the standard of reference.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients treated for dural arteriovenous fistulas in 2 centers between 2008 and 2019 were included if they met the following criteria: 1) dural arteriovenous fistula embolization, and 2) follow-up imaging with <6 months between DSA and 4D contrast-enhanced MRA. Two readers reviewed the 4D contrast-enhanced MRA images, first independently, then in consensus to detect any residual/recurrent dural arteriovenous fistula and to grade cases according to the Cognard classification system. Interobserver and intermodality agreement for the detection of a residual dural arteriovenous fistula and stratification of bleeding risk (0-I-IIa; IIb-IIa+b-III-IV-V) was calculated using κ coefficients.

RESULTS

A total of 51 pairs of examinations for 44 patients (median age, 65 years; range, 25-81 years) were analyzed. Interobserver agreement for the detection and stratification of bleeding risk was, respectively, κ = 0.8 (95% CI, 0.6-1) and κ = 0.8 (95% CI, 0.5-1). After consensus review, the sensitivity and specificity of 4D contrast-enhanced MRA for the detection of residual/recurrent dural arteriovenous fistula was 63.6% (95% CI, 40.7%-82.8%) and 96.6% (95% CI, 82.2%-99.9%), respectively. The positive and negative predictive values of 4D contrast-enhanced MRA were 93.3% (95% CI, 68.1%-99.8%) and 77.8% (95% CI, 60.8%-89.9%). Intermodality agreement for the detection and stratification of bleeding risk was good, with κ = 0.60 (95% CI, 0.3-0.8).

CONCLUSIONS

4D contrast-enhanced MRA at 3T is of interest in the follow-up of treated dural arteriovenous fistulas but lacks the sensitivity to replace arteriography.

DWI-Based Algorithm to Predict Disability in Patients Treated with Thrombectomy for Acute Stroke

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The reasons for poor clinical outcome after thrombectomy for acute stroke, concerning around half of all patients, are misunderstood. We developed a hierarchic algorithm based on DWI to better identify patients at high risk of disability.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Our single-center, retrospective study included consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke who underwent thrombectomy for large anterior artery occlusion and underwent pretreatment DWI. The primary outcome was the mRS at 3 months after stroke onset. Multivariable regression was used to identify independent clinical and imaging predictors of poor prognosis (mRS > 2) at 3 months, and a hierarchic algorithm predictive of disability was developed.

RESULTS

A total of 149 patients were analyzed. In decreasing importance, DWI lesion volume of >80 mL, baseline NIHSS score of >14, age older than 75 years, and time from stroke onset to groin puncture of >4 hours were independent predictors of poor prognosis. The predictive hierarchic algorithm developed from the multivariate analysis predicted the risk of disability at 3 months for up to 100% of patients with a high predictive value. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.87.

CONCLUSIONS

The DWI-based hierarchic algorithm we developed is highly predictive of disability at 3 months after thrombectomy and is easy to use in routine practice.

One-year MR angiographic and clinical follow-up after intracranial mechanical thrombectomy using a stent retriever device

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Little is known about the consequences of arterial wall damage that may be due to mechanical endovascular thrombectomy. Our aim was to perform 1-year MR angiographic and clinical follow-up of patients treated with mechanical endovascular thrombectomy using the Solitaire device.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients with stroke treated between August 2010 and July 2012 were prospectively evaluated with a minimum follow-up of 1 year after mechanical endovascular thrombectomy. Angiographic follow-up was performed on a 3T MR imaging scanner and included intracranial artery TOF MRA and supra-aortic artery gadolinium-enhanced MRA. Images were assessed to detect arterial abnormalities (stenosis, occlusion, dilation) and were compared with the final post-mechanical endovascular thrombectomy run to differentiate delayed and pre-existing abnormalities. Clinical evaluation was performed with the mRS and the 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey questionnaire quality-of-life scale.

RESULTS

Thirty-nine patients were angiographically assessed at the mean term of 19 ± 4 months. MRA showed intracranial artery abnormalities in 10 patients, including 5 delayed intracranial artery abnormalities in 4 patients (4 stenoses and 1 dilation), 4 cases of pre-existing intracranial artery stenosis, and 2 occlusions. Pre-existing etiologic cervical artery stenosis or occlusion was observed in 2 patients. All these patients remained asymptomatic during the follow-up period. A significant clinical improvement was observed at 1-year follow-up in comparison with 3-month follow-up (P < .0001), with a good outcome achieved in 62.5% of patients and an acceptable quality of life restored.

CONCLUSIONS

One-year follow-up identifies delayed asymptomatic arterial abnormalities in patients treated with the Solitaire device.

Pubertal stage and brain anatomy in girls

Studies of puberty have focused primarily on changes in hormones and on observable physical bodily characteristics. Little is known, however, about the nature of the relation between pubertal status and brain physiology. This is particularly important given findings that have linked the onset of puberty with both changes in cognitive functioning and increases in the incidence of depression and anxiety. The present study examined relations between pubertal stage, as assessed by Tanner staging, and brain anatomy in a sample of 54 girls aged 9-15 years. Brain morphometric analysis was conducted using high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The hippocampus and amygdala were manually traced on MRI scans in all participants. Stepwise regression analyses were conducted with total intracranial volume (ICV), age, and pubertal status as the predictor variables and hippocampus and amygdala volumes as outcome variables. Pubertal status was significantly associated with left amygdala volume, after controlling for both age and ICV. In addition, puberty was related to right hippocampus and amygdala volumes, after controlling for ICV. In contrast, no significant associations were found between age and hippocampal and amygdala volumes after controlling for pubertal status and ICV. These findings highlight the importance of the relation between pubertal status and morphometry of the hippocampus and amygdala, and of limbic and subcortical structures that have been implicated in emotional and social behaviors.