Initial multicenter technical experience with the Apollo device for minimally invasive intracerebral hematoma evacuation.

BACKGROUND: No conventional surgical intervention has been shown to improve outcomes for patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) compared with medical management. OBJECTIVE: We report the initial multicenter experience with a novel technique for the minimally invasive evacuation of ICH using the Penumbra Apollo system (Penumbra Inc, Alameda, California). METHODS: Institutional databases were queried to perform a retrospective analysis of all patients who underwent ICH evacuation with the Apollo system from May 2014 to September 2014 at 4 centers (Medical University of South Carolina, Stony Brook University, University of California at San Diego, and Semmes-Murphy Clinic). Cases were performed either in the neurointerventional suite, operating room, or in a hybrid operating room/angiography suite. RESULTS: Twenty-nine patients (15 female; mean age, 62 ± 12.6 years) underwent the minimally invasive evacuation of ICH. Six of these parenchymal hemorrhages had an additional intraventricular hemorrhage component. The mean volume of ICH was 45.4 ± 30.8 mL, which decreased to 21.8 ± 23.6 mL after evacuation (mean, 54.1 ± 39.1% reduction; P < .001). Two complications directly attributed to the evacuation attempt were encountered (6.9%). The mortality rate was 13.8% (n = 4). CONCLUSION: Minimally invasive evacuation of ICH and intraventricular hemorrhage can be achieved with the Apollo system. Future work will be required to determine which subset of patients are most likely to benefit from this promising technology.

Edema after intracerebral hemorrhage: correlations with coagulation parameters and treatment.

OBJECT: Development of edema is known to contribute to poor outcome after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Recent research has identified thrombin as a key mediator in the development of edema in animal models; however, little has been published correlating the coagulation cascade and edema in humans. METHODS: In this retrospective clinical study of 80 patients with spontaneous supratentorial ICH, the authors sought to identify factors associated with edema development and outcome, including lesion imaging parameters, anticoagulant use, international normalized ratio and platelet count on hospital admission, and treatment with mannitol and steroid medications. A multivariate model was used to identify edema volume, use of mannitol, elevated blood glucose, and the presence of intraventricular hemorrhage as predictors of poor outcome at the time patients were discharged from the hospital. The authors developed a quadratic model for predicting edema volume against time by using a random coefficients model, and found that edema peaks between Days 5 and 6 after onset of ICH. The volume of the hemorrhage and the platelet count correlated significantly with edema volume within the first 24 hours post-ICH in the multiple regression analysis (p < 0.0001, r2 = 0.75). Edema growth during the first 5 days post-ICH also correlated with the platelet count, with an increasing platelet count associated with an increasing growth of edema (p = 0.0013). CONCLUSIONS: The authors propose that factors released from activated platelets at the site of hemorrhage, for example vascular endothelial growth factor, may interact with thrombin to increase vascular permeability and contribute to the development of edema.