Necessity of mandatory postoperative intensive care unit management after clipping surgery for unruptured intracranial aneurysms.

OBJECTIVE: Many neurosurgeons routinely perform postoperative intensive care unit (ICU) management after clipping of unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs). However, whether routine postoperative ICU care is necessary remains a clinical question. Therefore, we investigated which factors acted as risk factors that actually required ICU care after microsurgical clipping of unruptured aneurysms. METHODS: We included a total of 532 patients who underwent clipping surgery for UIA between January 2020 and December 2020. The patients were divided into two groups: those who really required ICU care (41 patients, 7.7%) and those who did not (491 patients, 92.3%). A backward stepwise logistic regression model was used to identify factors that were independently associated with ICU care requirement. RESULTS: The mean hospital stay duration and the operation time were significantly longer in the ICU requirement group than in the no ICU requirement group (9.9 ± 10.7 vs. 6.3 ± 3.7 days, p = 0.041), (259.9 ± 128.4 vs. 210.5 ± 46.1 min, p = 0.019). The transfusion rate was significantly higher (p = 0.024) in the ICU requirement group. Multivariable logistic regression analysis identified male sex (odds ratio [OR], 2.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15-4.76; p = 0.0195), operation time (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00-1.01; p = 0.0022), and transfusion (OR, 2.35; 95% CI, 1.00-5.51; p = 0.0500) as independent risk factors for requiring ICU care after clipping. CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative ICU management may not be mandatory after clipping surgery for UIAs. Our results suggest that postoperative ICU management may be more required in the male sex, patients with longer operation times, and those who received a transfusion.

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage With Multifocal Cerebral Aneurysms in a Patient With Crohn's Disease and Sjögren's Syndrome: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Only a few reports of the association between Crohn's disease (CD) and Sjögren's syndrome (SS) have been documented in the medical literature. Herein, we are presenting a 61-year-old female patient who presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). She has a past medical history of primary SS on no active treatment, and CD in remission while on maintenance immunotherapy. She also tested positive for COVID-19. Computed tomography angiography (CTA) brain as well as cerebral angiogram revealed multifocal cerebral aneurysms. Successful coiling was achieved with a cerebral angiogram. This case serves to add to a limited body of reported cases and remind clinicians of the association between SS/CD and cerebral aneurysms. Herein, we review the literature regarding this association and also the effect of immunotherapy and COVID-19 on the progression of cerebral aneurysms.

Clinical Results of Flow Diverter Treatments for Cerebral Aneurysms under Local Anesthesia.

Flow diverters (FD) have become the mainstay for the endovascular treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIA). Most FD procedures are performed under general anesthesia, and the influence of local anesthesia (LA) on outcomes remains unknown. This study evaluated the results of FD placement under LA. Data of patients treated for FD under LA between August 2016 and January 2022 were analyzed retrospectively. A good outcome was defined as a modified Rankin scale score of 0-2. Major stroke, steno-occlusive events of FD, mortality, and satisfactory aneurysm occlusion were also evaluated. In total, 169 patients undertook 182 treatments (139 [82%) female, mean age 61 ± 11 years). The median maximum aneurysm size was 9.5 mm (interquartile range 6.1-14 mm). A flow re-directed endoluminal device and pipeline embolization device were used in 103 (57%) and 78 (43%) treatments. One patient (0.59%) experienced major stroke, and steno-occlusive events were observed in four patients (2.4%). A good outcome at 90 days was obtained in 164 patients (98%), and one patient died (0.59% mortality). During the median follow-up period of 345 days (interquartile range 176-366 days), satisfactory aneurysm occlusion was observed in 126 of 160 aneurysms (79%). Our results suggest that FD placement under LA is a safe and effective treatment for UIA.

YouTube as a source of patient information on brain aneurysms: a content-quality and audience engagement analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The internet allows patients to access a vast amount of health information. We aimed to evaluate the credibility of YouTube videos that members of the public are accessing on brain aneurysms, and to evaluate what characteristics drive audience engagement. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The first 50 videos for each of the following search terms were taken for analysis: 'brain aneurysm', 'cerebral aneurysm' and 'intracranial aneurysm'. The quality of each video was evaluated by two neurosurgeons and two medical students independently using the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) and the DISCERN instruments. Qualitative and quantitative video data was analysed for quality and audience engagement. Inter-rater agreement was ascertained. RESULTS: Out of a total of 150 videos, 70 met the inclusion criteria. The mean total DISCERN score was 36.5 ± 8.4 (out of 75 points), indicating that the videos were of poor quality. The mean JAMA score was 2.7 ± 0.7 (out of 4 points). Inter-rater agreement between the four raters was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.90 for DISCERN and 0.93 for JAMA). Most videos were uploaded by hospitals (50%) or educational health channels (30%). Videos had a higher number of average daily views when they included animation (P = 0.0093) and diagrams (P = 0.0422). CONCLUSIONS: YouTube is a poor source of patient information on brain aneurysms. Our quality and audience engagement analysis may help content creators (i.e. hospital staff and physicians) to create more holistic, educational and engaging medical videos concerning brain aneurysms. Physicians could usefully refer their patients to the highest quality videos that we have found.

Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Case Series.

OBJECTIVE: The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic is a pressing public health issue. Although most cases do not result in severe illness requiring hospitalization, there is increasing evidence that SARS-CoV-2-induced inflammation can exacerbate pre-existing diseases. We sought to describe the characteristics of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage who were actively or very recently infected with SARS-CoV-2. METHODS: We reviewed subarachnoid hemorrhage cases of patients who also were positive for SARS-CoV-2 at 5 high-volume cerebrovascular centers in the United States from March 2020 to January 2021. Cases of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 10 patients were identified, consisting of 5 women (50%) and 5 men (50%). Median age was 38.5 years. Four of the 10 patients (40%) were asymptomatic with respect to SARS-CoV-2-related symptoms, 3 patients (30%) had mild-to-moderate symptoms, and 3 patients (30%) had severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with pneumonia and sepsis. Of the 10 cases, 4 had dissecting pseudoaneurysms (40%), 3 in the posterior circulation and 1 in the anterior circulation. Among 6 saccular/blister aneurysms, 4 (67%) were ≤4 mm in largest diameter. CONCLUSIONS: Our experience with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in patients positive for COVID-19 reveals a possibly distinct pattern compared with traditional aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, namely a high frequency of small aneurysms, dissecting pseudoaneurysms, and young patients.