Impact of Cardio-Pulmonary and Intraoperative Factors on Occurrence of Cerebral Infarction After Early Surgical Repair of the Ruptured Cerebral Aneurysms

OBJECTIVE: Delayed ischemic deficit or cerebral infarction is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The purpose of this study is to reassess the prognostic impact of intraoperative elements, including factors related to surgery and anesthesia, on the development of cerebral infarction in patients with ruptured cerebral aneurysms. METHODS: Variables related to surgery and anesthesia as well as predetermined factors were all evaluated via a retrospective study on 398 consecutive patients who underwent early microsurgery for ruptured cerebral aneurysms in the last 7 years. Patients were dichotomized as following; good clinical grade (Hunt-Hess grade I to III) and poor clinical grade (IV and V). The end-point events were cerebral infarctions and the clinical outcomes were measured at postoperative 6 months. RESULTS: The occurrence of cerebral infarction was eminent when there was an intraoperative rupture, prolonged temporary clipping and retraction time, intraoperative hypotension, or decreased O2 saturation, but there was no statistical significance between the two different clinical groups. Besides the Fisher Grade, multiple logistic regression analyses showed that temporary clipping time, hypotension, and low O2 saturation had odds ratios of 1.574, 3.016, and 1.528, respectively. Cerebral infarction and outcome had a meaningful correlation (gamma=0.147, p=0.038). CONCLUSION: This study results indicate that early surgery for poor grade SAH patients carries a significant risk of ongoing ischemic complication due to the brain's vulnerability or accompanying cardio-pulmonary dysfunction. Thus, these patients should be approached very cautiously to overcome any anticipated intraoperative threat by concerted efforts with neuro-anesthesiologist in point to point manner.

Upward Migration of Distal Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt Catheter into the Heart : Case Report

Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt is commonly and effectively used to treat hydrocephalus. Intracardiac migration of the shunt catheter is a rare complication. A 68-year-old woman underwent ventriculoperitoneal shunting for hydrocephalus secondary to subarachnoid hemorrhage due to anterior communicating artery aneurysm rupture. Two weeks after the shunt surgery, she had suffered from the abdominal pain. Plain chest x-rays, computed tomography, and echocardiography revealed the distal catheter which was in the right ventricle of the heart. We tried to remove the catheter through the internal jugular vein by fluoroscopic guidance. But, the distal catheter was kinked and knotted; therefore, we failed to withdraw the catheter. After then, we punctured the right femoral vein and pulled down the multi-knotted shunt catheter to the femoral vein using the snare catheter. Finally, we removed the knotted distal catheter via the femoral vein and a new distal catheter was placed into the peritoneal cavity. We report a case in which the distal catheter of the VP shunt migrated into the heart via the internal jugular vein. We emphasize the importance of careful and proper placement of the distal catheter during the tunneling procedure to prevent life-threatening complications.

Extravasation from the Distal Anterior Choroidal Artery Aneurysm in Moyamoya Patient during Computed Tomographic Angiography

Three-dimensional computed tomographic angiography (CTA), a representative noninvasive radiologic technique, is being widely used for detecting vascular lesions in specific intracranial bleeding under a certain circumstance (acute nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage). We encountered a case of extravasation of the contrast medium on CTA images that appeared as ribbon-like high-attenuation lesion from an aneurysm at the distal anterior choroidal artery in a young adult moyamoya patient. As CTA is used more frequently, it is imperative to understand such unusual but, potentially lethal image findings to conduct a prompt intervention.

Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Associated with Achondroplasia: Case Report / 대한뇌혈관외과학회지

Patients with achondroplasia manifest various neurologic symptoms including megaencephaly, hydrocephalus, and progressive myelopathy or radiculopathy secondary to spinal stenosis. However, only anecdotal postmortem reports proved ruptured aneurysm or vascular malformation as a source of intracranial hemorrhage. We herein report a case of a 26-year-old woman with achondroplasia who underwent uneventful surgical treatment for the aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. In this literature, we review the pathophysiologic mechanism and emphasize the necessity of considering the possibility of sudden mental deterioration in achondroplastic patient.