CTA Supplemented by CTP Increases Interrater Reliability and Endovascular Treatment Use in Patients with Aneurysmal SAH.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Cerebral vasospasm is a common complication of aneurysmal SAH and remains a risk factor for delayed cerebral ischemia and poor outcome. The interrater reliability of CTA in combination with CTP has not been sufficiently studied. We aimed to investigate the reliability of CTA alone and in combination with CTP in the detection of cerebral vasospasm and the decision to initiate endovascular treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective single-center study including patients treated for aneurysmal SAH. Inclusion criteria were a baseline CTA and follow-up imaging including CTP due to suspected vasospasm. Three neuroradiologists were asked to grade 15 intracranial arterial segments in 71 cases using a tripartite scale (no, mild <50%, or severe >50% vasospasm). Raters further evaluated whether endovascular treatment should be indicated. The ratings were performed in 2 stages with a minimum interval of 6 weeks. The first rating included only CTA images, whereas the second rating additionally encompassed CTP images. All raters were blinded to any clinical information of the patients. RESULTS: Interrater reliability for per-segment analysis of vessels was highly variable (κ = 0.16-0.61). We observed a tendency toward higher interrater reliability in proximal vessel segments, except for the ICA. CTP did not improve the reliability for the per-segment analysis. When focusing on senior raters, the addition of CTP images resulted in higher interrater reliability for severe vasospasm (κ = 0.28; 95% CI, 0.10-0.46 versus κ = 0.46; 95% CI, 0.26-0.66) and subsequently higher concordance (κ = 0.23; 95% CI, -0.01-0.46 versus κ = 0.73; 95% CI, 0.55-0.91) for the decision of whether endovascular treatment was indicated. CONCLUSIONS: CTA alone offers only low interrater reliability in the graduation of cerebral vasospasm. However, using CTA in combination with CTP might help, especially senior neuroradiologists, to increase the interrater reliability to identify severe vasospasm following aneurysmal SAH and to increase the reliability regarding endovascular treatment decisions.

Early and recurrent cerebral vasospasms after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: The impact of age.

INTRODUCTION: Cerebral vasospasms remain a strong predictor of poor outcome after aneurysmal SAH. The aim of this study was to describe the time course of relevant vasospasms after aneurysmal SAH and to determine the variables associated with early-onset or prolonged and recurrent vasospasms. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, single-center study of consecutive adult patients with aneurysmal SAH admitted between 2016 and 2022 at our tertiary stroke center. Relevant vasospasms, defined as vessel narrowing detected in DSA in combination with clinical deterioration or new perfusion deficit, were detected according to our in-house algorithm and eventually treated endovascularly. The primary endpoint was the diagnosis of relevant vasospasms. As secondary endpoints, the time from hemorrhage to the onset of vasospasms and the time from the first to the last endovascular intervention were measured. RESULTS: Of 368 patients with aneurysmal SAH, 135 (41.0%) developed relevant vasospasms. The median time between ictus and detection of vasospasms was 8 days (IQR: 6-10). Patients with early-onset vasospasms were significantly younger (mean 52.7 ± 11.2 years vs 58.7 ± 11.5 years, p = 0.003) and presented more frequently vasospasm-related infarctions at discharge (58.8% vs 38.7%, p = 0.03). In 74 patients (54.8%), recurrent relevant vasospasms were observed despite endovascular treatment. Younger age and early onset were significantly associated with longer duration of relevant vasospasms (both p < 0.05). DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Younger age was associated with early-onset and longer duration of relevant vasospasms in this study. More frequent clinical and diagnostic follow-up should be considered in this subgroup of patients that are at risk for poor outcomes.

Single-Center Retrospective Comparative Study Evaluating the Benefit of Computed Tomography Angiography Prior to Prostatic Artery Embolization.

PURPOSE: To explore whether a computed tomography angiography (CTA) of the pelvis prior to prostatic artery embolization (PAE) is a beneficial preprocedural planning tool regarding the technical success. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty patients with lower urinary tract symptoms treated with PAE were analyzed retrospectively. Forty of these patients received a CTA of the pelvis prior to the procedure (Group A) and were compared to 40 patients who were treated with PAE without prior CT imaging (Group B). Technical success rate, rate of complications, fluoroscopy time (FT), and mean dose area product (DAP) were assessed and compared. All operators performed at least 50 PAE prior to this study. When needed, cone-beam CT (CBCT) was available during intervention. RESULTS: Mean age was 68.43 ± 8.30 years in Group A and 70.42 ± 7.11 years in Group B (p = 0.252). Mean body mass index was 26.78 ± 3.73 in Group A and 26.85 ± 3.5 in Group B (p = 0.319). Overall technical success was 96.3%. Bilateral PAE was achieved in 60 patients (75.0%) while unilateral PAE was performed in 17 patients (21.3%). Technical failure (no embolization) occurred in two patients of Group A and one patient of Group B. No statistical significance was seen between groups for technical success rate (p = 1.0). Mean DAP was 10,164 × cm2 ± 3944 cGy × cm2 in Group A and 10,039 × cm2 ± 3761 cGy × cm2 in Group B (p = 0.885). Mean FT was 49.27 ± 22.97 min in Group A and 44.32 ± 17.82 min in Group B (p = 0.285). No intervention-related complications during PAE were reported. CONCLUSION: With experienced interventionalists and CBCT available during PAE, preprocedural CTA has no additional benefit for technical outcome.