In-hospital complication–related risk factors for discharge and 90-day outcomes in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage after surgical clipping and endovascular coiling: a propensity score–matched analysis

OBJECTIVE More than 10 years have passed since the two best-known clinical trials of ruptured aneurysms (International Subarachnoid Aneurysm Trial [ISAT] and Barrow Ruptured Aneurysm Trial [BRAT]) indicated that endovascular coiling (EC) was superior to surgical clipping (SC). However, in recent years, the development of surgical techniques has greatly improved; thus, it is necessary to reanalyze the impact of the differences in treatment modalities on the prognosis of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). METHODS The authors retrospectively reviewed all aSAH patients admitted to their institution between January 2015 and December 2020. The functional outcomes at discharge and 90 days after discharge were assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). In-hospital complications, hospital charges, and risk factors derived from multivariate logistic regression were analyzed in the SC and EC groups after 1:1 propensity score matching (PSM). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was used to calculate each independent predictor’s prediction ability between treatment groups. RESULTS A total of 844 aSAH patients were included. After PSM to control for sex, aneurysm location, Hunt and Hess grade, World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) grade, modified Fisher Scale grade, and current smoking and alcohol abuse status, 329 patients who underwent SC were compared with 329 patients who underwent EC. Patients who underwent SC had higher incidences of unfavorable discharge and 90-day outcomes (46.5% vs 33.1%, p < 0.001; and 19.6% vs 13.8%, p = 0.046, respectively), delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) (31.3% vs 20.1%, p = 0.001), intracranial infection (20.1% vs 1.2%, p < 0.001), anemia (42.2% vs 17.6%, p < 0.001), hypoproteinemia (46.2% vs 21.6%, p < 0.001), and pneumonia (33.4% vs 24.9%, p = 0.016); but a lower incidence of urinary tract infection (1.2% vs 5.2%, p = 0.004) and lower median hospital charges ($12,285 [IQR $10,399–$15,569] vs $23,656 [IQR $18,816–$30,025], p < 0.001). A positive correlation between the number of in-hospital complications and total hospital charges was indicated in the SC (r = 0.498, p < 0.001) and EC (r = 0.411, p < 0.001) groups. The occurrence of pneumonia and DCI, WFNS grade IV or V, and age were common independent risk factors for unfavorable outcomes at discharge and 90 days after discharge in both treatment modalities. CONCLUSIONS EC shows advantages in discharge and 90-day outcomes, in-hospital complications, and the number of risk factors but increases the economic cost on patients during their hospital stay. Severe in-hospital complications such as pneumonia and DCI may have a long-lasting impact on the prognosis of patients.

Risk of Re-Rupture, Vasospasm, or Re-Stroke after Clipping or Coiling of Ruptured Intracranial Aneurysms: Long-Term Follow-Up with a Propensity Score-Matched, Population-Based Cohort Study

Scarce evidence is available in Asia for estimating the long-term risk and prognostic factors of major complications such as re-rupture, vasospasm, or re-stroke for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) undergoing endovascular coil embolization or surgical clipping. This is the first head-to-head propensity score-matched study in an Asian population to demonstrate that endovascular coil embolization for aneurysmal SAH treatment is riskier than surgical clipping in terms of re-rupture, vasospasm, or re-stroke. In addition, the independent poor prognostic factors of vasospasm or re-stroke were endovascular coil embolization, male sex, older age (≥65 years; the risk of vasospasm increases with age), hypertension, congestive heart failure, diabetes, previous transient ischemic attack, or stroke in aneurysmal SAH treatment. Background: To estimate the long-term complications and prognostic factors of endovascular coil embolization or surgical clipping for patients with ruptured aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Methods: We selected patients diagnosed with aneurysmal SAH between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2017. Propensity score matching was performed, and Cox proportional hazards model curves were used to analyze the risk of re-rupture, vasospasm, and re-stroke in patients undergoing the different treatments. Findings: Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of re-rupture for endovascular coil embolization compared with surgical clipping was 1.36 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.17–1.57; p < 0.0001). The aHRs of the secondary endpoints of vasospasm and re-stroke (delayed cerebral ischemia) for endovascular coil embolization compared with surgical clipping were 1.14 (1.02–1.27; p = 0.0214) and 2.04 (1.83–2.29; p < 0.0001), respectively. The independent poor prognostic factors for vasospasm and re-stroke were endovascular coil embolization, male sex, older age (≥65 years; risk increases with age), hypertension, congestive heart failure, diabetes, and previous transient ischemic attack or stroke. Interpretation: Endovascular coil embolization for aneurysmal SAH carries a higher risk than surgical clipping of both short- and long-term complications including re-rupture, vasospasm, and re-stroke.

Does establishing a neurovascular unit improve the outcome after surgical clipping for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage? Results from a 5-year observational study in Kuwait

Background: Failure to prevent rebleeding after cerebral subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is the most frequent reason for high morbidity and mortality of aneurysmal SAH. Our study aims to identify the outcome after surgical clipping of aneurysmal SAH before and after the establishment of the neurovascular unit. The clarifications of the positive turnover in the outcome will be discussed. Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis was carried out on our experience with a controlled group of patients who underwent clipping for ruptured cerebral aneurysms (n = 61) from January 2015 to December 2019. A modified Rankin scale (mRS) was used to determine the outcome after 6 months of follow-up. Results: The median mRS score (i.e., outcome) on admission was 4, whereas it was with a median score of 2 six months after clipping (P ≤ 0.001). Overall, the cases with a good outcome were 63.9% of the sample, while the poor outcome conditions were 36.1%. The most cases with an improved outcome were after introducing the neurovascular unit, representing a transition of aneurysmal clipping practice in our center. The good outcome was changed from 42% to 76.7%, and the poor outcome was changed from 58% to 23.3% (P = 0.019). The crude mortality rate was similar to the rate worldwide (18%), with a noticeable decrease after organizing a neurovascular subspecialty. Conclusion: The outcome after clipping of ruptured SAH can be largely affected by the surgeon’s experience and postoperative intensive care. Organizing a neurovascular team is one of the major factors to achieve good outcomes.

Intraoperative motor and somatosensory evoked potential monitoring during surgical clipping of ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms: a comparative study

OBJECTIVE The current study investigated the correlation between intraoperative motor evoked potential (MEP) and somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) monitoring and both short-term and long-term motor outcomes in aneurysm patients treated with surgical clipping. Moreover, the authors provide a relatively optimal neurophysiological predictor of postoperative motor deficits (PMDs) in patients with ruptured and unruptured aneurysms. METHODS A total of 1017 patients (216 with ruptured aneurysms and 801 with unruptured aneurysms) were included. Patient demographic characteristics, clinical features, intraoperative monitoring data, and follow-up data were retrospectively reviewed. The efficacy of using changes in MEP/SSEP to predict PMDs was assessed using binary logistic regression analysis. Subsequently, receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to determine the optimal critical value for duration of MEP/SSEP deterioration. RESULTS Both intraoperative MEP and SSEP monitoring were significantly effective for predicting short-term (p < 0.001 for both) and long-term (p < 0.001 for both) PMDs in aneurysm patients. The critical values for predicting short-term PMDs were amplitude decrease rates of 57.30% for MEP (p < 0.001 and area under the curve [AUC] 0.732) and 64.10% for SSEP (p < 0.001 and AUC 0.653). In patients with an unruptured aneurysm, the optimal critical values for predicting short-term PMDs were durations of deterioration of 17 minutes for MEP (p < 0.001 and AUC 0.768) and 21 minutes for SSEP (p < 0.001 and AUC 0.843). In patients with a ruptured aneurysm, the optimal critical values for predicting short-term PMDs were durations of deterioration of 12.5 minutes for MEP (p = 0.028 and AUC 0.706) and 11 minutes for SSEP (p = 0.043 and AUC 0.813). CONCLUSIONS The authors found that both intraoperative MEP and SSEP monitoring are useful for predicting short-term and long-term PMDs in patients with unruptured and ruptured aneurysms. The optimal intraoperative neuromonitoring method for predicting PMDs varies depending on whether the aneurysm has ruptured or not.

Abstract 1122‐000145: Impact of Age on Outcomes Following Endovascular vs Clipping of Ruptured and Unruptured Cerebral Aneurysms

Introduction : Age is an important determinant of outcome in patients with unruptured or ruptured cerebral aneurysms. Advancements in endovascular therapies have significantly impacted patient selection and treatment of patients with cerebral aneurysm. Recent release of the National claims data for 2017–2018 provides the opportunity to explore novel population‐level outcomes following clipping vs endovascular treatment of ruptured and unruptured cerebral aneurysms in different age groups. Methods : Analysis of US National Inpatient Sample of hospitalizations with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) or unruptured aneurysms treated with clipping or endovascular therapy from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2018. Pre‐defined age strata included: younger than 50 years; 50–64 years; 65–79 years; and 80 years or older. Primary outcomes included in‐hospital mortality and favorable outcome defined as discharge to home. Results : Overall, 34,955 hospitalizations with unruptured aneurysm treatment, (26,695 endovascular and 8,260 surgical clipping), and 17,525 hospitalizations with aSAH were identified in the study period. In unruptured aneurysm group, endovascular therapy was associated with significantly higher favorable outcome across all age groups, and lower mortality in those 65 years or older (all P<0.001) when compared to clipping. Median hospital length‐of‐stay was 1 day (IQR 1–4) in endovascular vs 4 days (IQR 3–8) in clipping group (P<0.001). In aSAH group, endovascular therapy was associated with higher favorable outcome in 50–80 years age groups when compared to clipping, with no significant differences for in‐hospital mortality outcome (Table). Significantly more favorable outcomes were achieved with coiling vs clipping in those aged 65 or above with unruptured aneurysms. Conclusions : In 2017–2018 in US, unruptured aneurysm patients treated with endovascular therapy had significantly lower morbidity and mortality compared to those treated with surgical clipping, and differences were more pronounced with age. Similar but less strong association was observed in patients with aSAH.

Abstract 1122‐000086: Comparison of Surgical Clipping vs Endovascular Coiling for Posterior Projecting Anterior Communicating Artery Aneurysm

Introduction : We wanted to evaluate the feasibility and results of endovascular treatment in patients with a posteriorly projecting A Com aneurysm and compare surgical clipping with endovascular coiling for posterior projecting anterior communicating artery aneurysm in terms of peroperative technical feasibility and possible complications such as rupture,perioperative complications and postoperative mortality and morbidity. Methods : .Total 6 cases were studied,3 of them (n = 3, 50%)were operated by surgical clipping and 3 (n = 3.50%) underwent endovascular coiling.Average age was 52yrs, 90% were hypertensive, 80% were smokers. All presented through emergency with subarachnoid hemorrhage.2 of the patients in each surgical and endovascular group presented at ER with Hunt and Hess grade 3 (n = 2,33.3%) the others were at Hunt and Hess grade 2 (n = 4,66.6%). The average time from hemorrhage to surgery and coiling was 25days. Outcome assessed using modified Rankin score and a score of 2 was considered satisfactory. Results : In the surgically treated arm 2 patients had mRS of 2 while the 3 rd one had 4.In the endovascular coiling group 1 had mRS of 1,1 had mRS2 and 3 rd had m RS of 3. Despite the very small sample size the outcome in terms of mRS indicated slightly better results for patients undergoing coiling Conclusion: Endovascular coiling is better in the treatment of posteriorly projecting anterior communicating artery aneurysm. Conclusions : Endovascular coiling is better in the treatment of posteriorly projecting anterior communicating artery aneurysm.

Surgical outcomes of patients after treatment of ruptured anterior communicating artery aneurysms: “real-world” evidence from southern Thailand

Background Anterior communicating artery (AComA) aneurysm rupture is the most common cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage worldwide. In this study, we aimed to determine the factors associated with a poor clinical outcome in patients with ruptured AComA aneurysms undergoing microsurgical clipping. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the clinical and radiologic features as well as clinical outcomes of 150 consecutive patients with ruptured AComA aneurysm who underwent surgical clipping during the 11-year study period. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent factors associated with unfavorable clinical outcomes (defined as a modified Rankin scale score of 3–6). Results The study included 83 male and 67 female patients, with a mean age of 51.3 ± 11.5 years. At admission, most of the patients had good neurological status, including 97 (64.7%) patients with a Hunt and Hess grade of 1 or 2 and 109 (72.6%) patients with a World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies grade of 1 or 2. Unfavorable outcomes at 6 months were observed in 23 (22.0%) patients, and the 6-month mortality rate was 8.0%. Multivariate analysis showed that preoperative intraventricular hemorrhage (odds ratio [OR], 19.66; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.10–75.80; P < 0.001), A1 hypoplasia (OR, 8.90; 95% CI, 2.82–28.04; P < 0.001), and postoperative cerebral infarction (OR, 3.21; 95% CI, 1.16–8.88; P = 0.025) were strong independent risk factors for unfavorable outcomes. Conclusions Proper management of preoperative intraventricular hemorrhage, A1 hypoplasia, and intensive care for postoperative brain infarction are warranted for improved surgical outcomes in patients with ruptured AComA aneurysm undergoing surgical clipping.