ABSTRACT
Objective@#A high rate of cerebral aneurysm recurrence following endovascular coiling has prompted the use of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for interval follow-up. However, the utility of skull x-rays as an alternative screening method for aneurysm recurrence is unproperly characterized. @*Methods@#Retrospective review of a prospective registry of ruptured and unruptured cerebral aneurysms. Anteroposterior and lateral skull x-rays were obtained immediately at the end of the procedure and at 6-month follow-up. Aneurysm recurrence was defined by comparing post-procedure and 6-month DSA imaging. A true positive was defined as a change in coil mass morphology on at least one projection with aneurysm recurrence on DSA, and a true negative defined as a stable coil mass on both projections and no recurrence on DSA. Receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (AUC) statistics was used to assess the performance of skull x-rays in identifying aneurysm recurrence. @*Results@#A total of 118 cerebral aneurysms were evaluated with DSA imaging and skull x-rays. A change in coil mass morphology on one projection of skull x-rays correctly detected all true recurrences with a sensitivity of 100% (95% confidence interval [CI], 91-100%). Skull x-rays failed to identify a stable aneurysm coil mass in 15 cases, with a specificity of 79% (68-88%). Skull x-rays performed with AUC 0.8958 (95% CI, 0.8490-0.9431) in identifying aneurysm recurrence. @*Conclusions@#The findings of our study suggest that skull x-rays may represent a lowcost, non-invasive screening tool to rule out aneurysm recurrence, which can potentially aid in decreasing the utilization of DSA in the follow-up of patients with coiled cerebral aneurysms.
ABSTRACT
Objective@#A high rate of cerebral aneurysm recurrence following endovascular coiling has prompted the use of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) for interval follow-up. However, the utility of skull x-rays as an alternative screening method for aneurysm recurrence is unproperly characterized. @*Methods@#Retrospective review of a prospective registry of ruptured and unruptured cerebral aneurysms. Anteroposterior and lateral skull x-rays were obtained immediately at the end of the procedure and at 6-month follow-up. Aneurysm recurrence was defined by comparing post-procedure and 6-month DSA imaging. A true positive was defined as a change in coil mass morphology on at least one projection with aneurysm recurrence on DSA, and a true negative defined as a stable coil mass on both projections and no recurrence on DSA. Receiver operating characteristic area under the curve (AUC) statistics was used to assess the performance of skull x-rays in identifying aneurysm recurrence. @*Results@#A total of 118 cerebral aneurysms were evaluated with DSA imaging and skull x-rays. A change in coil mass morphology on one projection of skull x-rays correctly detected all true recurrences with a sensitivity of 100% (95% confidence interval [CI], 91-100%). Skull x-rays failed to identify a stable aneurysm coil mass in 15 cases, with a specificity of 79% (68-88%). Skull x-rays performed with AUC 0.8958 (95% CI, 0.8490-0.9431) in identifying aneurysm recurrence. @*Conclusions@#The findings of our study suggest that skull x-rays may represent a lowcost, non-invasive screening tool to rule out aneurysm recurrence, which can potentially aid in decreasing the utilization of DSA in the follow-up of patients with coiled cerebral aneurysms.
ABSTRACT
Intra-arterial embolization of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) prior to surgical resection is the preferred approach to minimize blood loss during surgical resection of the tumor. However, the presence of external carotid artery–internal carotid artery (ECA-ICA) anastomoses may hinder complete tumor embolization due to the associated risk for embolic complications. Here, we evaluate the use of a balloon-assisted embolization (BAE) technique in the treatment of JNA. We conducted a retrospective review of JNA patients who underwent tumor embolization with injection of Onyx in a single session between 2013-2018. All cases displayed tumor arterial supply from ECA and ICA circulations on 2-D catheter angiograms. Procedural and surgical outcome data were analyzed. Results are given as mean±- standard deviation (range). Among 9 patients with JNA, all were males and mean age was 14.1±6.3 years (range, 9-29 years). The mean tumor volume embolization was 84.4±12.4% (range, 60-100%) and in 89% patients ≥80% of tumor volume embolization was achieved. There were no embolization-related complications reported. During surgical resection of the tumor there was a low average surgical blood loss of 722±651.5 mL (range, 50-2,000 mL) and the mean procedure time was 282.6±85.4 mins (range, 151-403 mins). In this series, the BAE technique showed to be a safe and effective approach to achieve successful tumor embolization while avoiding embolic complications and effectively reducing the risk for blood loss during surgical resection.