Background:
Studies have questioned the effectiveness of surgery for the management of unruptured intracranial aneurysm (uIA). Few studies have examined the ability to drive and quality of life (QOL) after surgery for uIA.
Objective:
This study examined the effectiveness of surgical management of uIA by measuring patients’ perceived quality of life and their cognitive abilities related to driving.
Methods:
Between January 2011 and January 2016 patients with a uIA were assessed using the Quality Metric Short Form 36 (SF36) and the off-road driver screening instrument DriveSafeDriveAware. Reassessments were conducted at the 6-week post-operative follow-up for surgical patients and at 12-month follow-up for surgical and conservatively managed patients.
Results:
175 patients enrolled in the study, of which 112(66%) had surgical management of their aneurysm. For the surgical cases who completed all assessments (N=74), there was a trend for the DriveSafe pre-operative mean score of 108 (SD 10.7) to be lower than the 6-week and 12-month post-operative mean scores (111 SD 9.7 and 112 SD 10.2 respectively)(p=0.05). There were no significant changes in DriveAware scores at any epoch or between patient groups nor in the MCS in the surgical group.. There was a significant decline in PCS scores at 6 weeks post-operatively which recovered at 12 months (52 SD 8.1, 46 SD 6.8 and 52 SD 7.1 respectively)(
p
<0.01). There was no significant difference in 12-month mRS scores between the surgical cases who completed with cases who did not complete all assessments.
Conclusion:
Surgery for uIA did not affect cognitive abilities for driving at 6 weeks or 12 months after surgery. There was a decline in the QOL in the first months after surgery, however QOL returned to pre-surgical status 12 months after surgery. If the risk of seizures is low and there are no post-operative complications, returning to driving can be recommended.
Comparison of two preventive dual antiplatelet regimens for unruptured intracranial aneurysm embolization with flow diverter/disrupter: A matched-cohort study comparing clopidogrel with ticagrelor
