Traumatic intracranial aneurysm in a distal posterior cerebral artery: A case report and literature review.

Background: Traumatic intracranial aneurysms (TICAs) are rare and known to rupture easily and have a high mortality rate. Case Description: An 87-year-old male patient with no neurological deficits presented to our hospital after head trauma. Computed tomography (CT) revealed a tentorial acute subdural hematoma (ASDH). The patient was managed conservatively and discharged home six days after hospitalization. Two days later, the patient returned with a severe headache. CT showed that the ASDH had enlarged and extended from the tentorium to the convexity. CT angiography and digital subtraction angiography revealed a pseudoaneurysm in a branch of the left posterior inferior temporal artery. The patient was diagnosed with an enlarged ASDH due to a ruptured TICA that arose from the P3 segment. We performed endovascular intervention with parent artery occlusion (PAO) using n-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate (NBCA). The parent artery was accessed through the left posterior communicating artery because left vertebral angiography revealed an aplastic left P1 segment. After navigating the microcatheter near the aneurysm, we injected 33% NBCA into the parent artery. The pseudoaneurysm disappeared after injection. The patient was discharged on hospital day 25 despite persistent delirium. Conclusion: This is the first report of a TICA arising from the P3 segment that was treated with PAO using NBCA. TICAs are rare; however, a TICA must be considered when an enlarged hematoma caused by head injury is detected.

Age and composition of the thrombus retrieved by mechanical thrombectomy from patients with acute ischemic stroke are associated with revascularization and clinical outcomes.

INTRODUCTION: Understanding the composition of stroke thrombi retrieved by mechanical thrombectomy is essential to clarify the pathogenesis of stroke. However, it is difficult to evaluate thrombus composition precisely and objectively. Immunohistochemical staining was used to evaluate thrombus composition and age. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive thrombi (n = 108) retrieved from patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy for acute large-vessel ischemic stroke were retrospectively analyzed. Lytic features of granulocytes and CD163 were estimated as indicators of the age of the cardioembolic (CE) thrombus. RESULTS: The stroke subtypes were as follows: CE, 74 cases; large artery atherosclerosis, 11; undetermined etiology, 12; and other determined etiology, 11. There were no statistical differences in thrombi composition according to stroke subtypes. The fibrin area was positively correlated with the red blood cell (RBC) and platelet areas. The following analysis was performed using CE only. Regarding age, the thrombus was judged as fresh in 30.0 % and older in 70.0 % based on the lytic features. The RBC areas of older thrombi were smaller than those of fresh thrombi. The puncture-to-reperfusion time of older thrombi was longer than that of fresh thrombi. Platelet-rich thrombi were associated with a greater number of maneuvers, a smaller prevalence of TICI 3, and unfavorable functional outcomes compared to platelet-poor thrombi. The number of CD163 positive cells in thrombi with anticoagulants was higher than in those without anticoagulants. CONCLUSION: Thrombus composition correlated with revascularization and clinical outcomes. The composition of an acute ischemic thrombus may reflect the pathophysiology of stroke and influence treatment efficacy.

Field Assessment of Critical Stroke by Emergency Services for Acute Delivery to a Comprehensive Stroke Center: FACE2AD.

Patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to large vessel occlusion (LVO) should be triaged to an endovascular-capable hospital by the emergency medical service (EMS). We designed a prehospital LVO prediction scale based on EMS assessments. In the derivation cohort, 1157 patients transferred to our hospital by the EMS because of suspected stroke within 24 h of onset were retrospectively examined. Factors associated with AIS due to LVO were identified based on the EMS assessment, and a prehospital scale identifying LVO was developed. The accuracy of this scale was validated in 502 consecutive patients who were transferred to 4 stroke centers, and its accuracy was compared with those of 4 previously reported scales. AIS due to LVO was diagnosed in 149 of 1157 patients (13%) in the derivation cohort. One point each was assigned for facial palsy, arm weakness, consciousness impairment (cannot say his/her name), atrial fibrillation, and diastolic blood pressure ≤ 85 mmHg, with two points for conjugate eye deviation (FACE2AD scale). In the derivation cohort, with the optimal cut-point of FACE2AD ≥ 3 determined by the area under the curve (AUC; 0.88; 95% confidence interval 0.87-0.90), sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for FACE2AD to predict LVO were 0.85, 0.80, 0.39, and 0.97, respectively. In the validation cohort, the FACE2AD scale had higher accuracy, with an AUC value of 0.84 for predicting LVO compared with the other scales (all p < 0.01). The FACE2AD scale is a simple, reliable tool for identifying AIS due to LVO by the EMS.