Clinical Neuroradiology最新文献

Background and purpose: Recently, avant-garde combinations of ancillary devices as an adjunct to coil embolization for acutely ruptured and wide-necked cerebral aneurysms have emerged. This study sought to investigate the feasibility, safety and durability of the simultaneous combination of temporary neck-bridging devices plus balloon-assisted coiling (BAC) to treat acutely ruptured and wide-necked cerebral aneurysms.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed of patients with ruptured and wide-necked intracranial bifurcation aneurysms treated with temporary stent plus balloon-assisted coiling. Anatomical features, technical details, intraprocedural complications, clinical and angiographic results were reviewed. Preprocedural and follow-up clinical statuses were evaluated using the modified Rankin scale (mRS).

Results: A total of 21 patients (mean age 54.5 years, range 37-72 years) were identified. The immediate postprocedural angiography revealed complete aneurysm occlusion in 85.7% (18/21) of the cases. A periprocedural complication developed in 9.5% of the cases. There was no mortality in this study. The permanent morbidity rate was 4.7%. Long-term follow-up angiography was performed in 18 of 21 patients (85.7%) (the mean follow-up period was 21 months). The rate of complete aneurysm occlusion at final follow-up was 89.4%.

Conclusion: The results of this study confirmed that temporary stent plus balloon-assisted coiling is a durable and relatively safe endovascular technique for the treatment of ruptured wide-necked bifurcation aneurysms located in both the posterior and anterior cerebral circulation.

Purpose: In approximately 30% of the patients, brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) are revealed by seizures, which may alter the patients' quality of life. Our objective was to evaluate the benefits of exclusion treatment (radiosurgery, embolization and/or surgery) on posttherapeutic epilepsy in bAVM patients without intracranial hemorrhage prior to treatment.

Methods: Our retrospective observational single-center study included all consecutive adult patients with an unruptured bAVM and epilepsy, treated at our institution from 1995 to 2019 and who were followed for at least 1 year. Data on angioarchitectural characteristics of bAVMs, on epilepsy and posttreatment modified Rankin Scale (mRS) were collected. The primary endpoint was a seizure-free status (defined as Engel class IA) after exclusion treatment versus conservative management.

Results: In this study one hundred and one consecutive adult patients with bAVMs, epilepsy and without bAVM rupture before any treatment were included; 21 (21%) in the conservative management group vs. 80 (79%) in the exclusion treatment group. After exclusion treatment, 55% of the patients from the group were Engel IA after treatment vs. 10% of the conservative management group (odds ratio [OR] 11.37, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.48-107.24, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Our results suggest that exclusion treatment in unruptured bAVMs with epilepsy is associated with a higher seizure-free rate in comparison with conservative management. Data from randomized controlled studies are necessary to confirm these findings.

Purpose: A radiologic assessment method to measure position change of screw-rod constructs over time by superposing the 3‑dimensional images assists in quantitative evaluation of screw loosening. We investigated the association between position change and radiolucent zone that was commonly used for diagnosing screw loosening.

Methods: In this study 101 patients who underwent lumbar fusion were reviewed. Patient characteristics included age, sex, indications for surgery, number of fused levels, surgical procedures, and timing of follow-up computed tomography (CT, 1-5 months, 6-11 months, and ≥ 12 months). The Hounsfield unit values of L1 vertebra on preoperative CT were measured, and the radiolucent zone on each follow-up CT was evaluated. Using baseline CT on the day after surgery and follow-up CT, 3‑dimensional images of screw-rod constructs were generated and superposed. Position change was assessed by the median of the distances between the 3‑dimensional images at baseline and follow-up using the automated measurement method. Patient characteristics, the Hounsfield unit values of L1, and the amount of position change were categorized into the radiolucent zone presence and absence groups and compared.

Results: The medians of position change were 0.281 mm and 0.136 mm in the radiolucent zone presence and absence groups, respectively (P < 0.001 by Mann-Whitney U-test). The area under the curve for position change in identifying radiolucent zone was 0.846; the cut-off value was 1.76 mm. In multivariable analysis, position change was independently associated with radiolucent zone (adjusted odds ratio per 0.1 mm, 2.80, 95% confidence interval 1.70-4.61).

Conclusion: Radiolucent zone was associated with position change of screw-rod constructs.

Background: International guidelines exist for obtaining a head computed tomography (CT) scan before a lumbar puncture (LP) in adults with suspected meningitis but there are no studies comparing them in their ability to identify intracranial abnormalities.

Methods: A retrospective study of 202 cases of adults with community-acquired bacterial meningitis at 16 hospitals in Houston from December 2004 until May 2019 to compare the 4 guidelines' ability in identifying minor and major intracranial findings, cases in which CT findings changed management, and patients who suffered cerebral herniation.

Results: Minor and major intracranial findings were seen in 69 (34.1%) and in 24 (11.8%) of the patients, respectively. A total of nine (37.5%) of the major intracranial findings prompted a neurosurgical intervention. A total of four (1.9%) patients had cerebral herniation. The Infectious Diseases of America (IDSA), the United Kingdom (UK), the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), and the Swedish guidelines for cranial imaging were met in 92.1%, 54%, 41.6%, and in 23.3% of the patients, respectively. The IDSA, UK, European, and the Swedish guidelines missed 0%, 20.8%, 41.7%, and 70.8% of the major intracranial findings and 0, 1, 3 and 4 of the 9 patients that prompted a neurosurgical intervention, respectively. All four patients with cerebral herniation met the criteria for all four guidelines.

Conclusion: Out of the four international guidelines, only the IDSA recommendations for cranial imaging did not miss any major intracranial abnormality or any finding that prompted a neurosurgical intervention but all guidelines identified herniation.

Purpose: Endovascular treatment represents the first-line therapy for cavernous sinus dural arteriovenous fistulas (CS-dAVF); however, different approaches and embolic agents as well as occlusion rates, complications and clinical outcomes are reported among the published series. In this study we performed a comprehensive meta-analysis to investigate clinical and radiological outcomes after endovascular treatment of CS-dAVFs.

Methods: PubMed, Ovid Medline, Ovid EMBASE, Scopus, and Web of Science were screened for a comprehensive literature review from 1990 to 2020 regarding series of patients treated for CS-dAVF with endovascular approaches. We performed a proportion meta-analysis estimating the pooled rates of each outcome also including data of patients treated in our center.

Results: A total of 22 studies reporting 1043 patients and 1066 procedures were included. Chemosis was reported in 559 out of 1043 patients (45.9%), proptosis in 498 (41.5%), and ophthalmoplegia in 344 (23.5%). A transvenous embolization was preferred in 753 cases (63.2%) and coils were used in 712 out of 1066 procedures (57.8%). Overall, 85% (95% confidence interval, CI 69.5-96.1%) of patients had a complete resolution of symptoms, while complications occurred in 7.75% (95% CI 3.82-12.7%) with minimal permanent deficits (0.15%). The mortality rate was 1 out of 1043 patients (< 0.001).

Conclusion: A transvenous coiling is the most common endovascular approach for CS-dAVF, achieving a high percentage of radiological and clinical resolution and low complication rates. Transvenous approaches show less complications than transarterial ones, and coils appear safer than liquid embolic agents.

Objective: ¹⁸F‑fluoro-L‑3,4‑dihydroxyphenylalanine positron emission tomography (F‑DOPA PET) is used in glioma follow-up after radiotherapy to discriminate treatment-related changes (TRC) from tumor progression (TP). We compared the performances of a combined PET and MRI analysis with F‑DOPA current standard of interpretation.

Methods: We included 76 consecutive patients showing at least one gadolinium-enhanced lesion on the T1‑w MRI sequence (T1G). Two nuclear medicine physicians blindly analyzed PET/MRI images. In addition to the conventional PET analysis, they looked for F‑DOPA uptake(s) outside T1G-enhanced areas (T1G/PET), in the white matter (WM/PET), for T1G-enhanced lesion(s) without sufficiently concordant F‑DOPA uptake (T1G+/PET), and F‑DOPA uptake(s) away from hemorrhagic changes as shown with a susceptibility weighted imaging sequence (SWI/PET). We measured lesions' F‑DOPA uptake ratio using healthy brain background (TBR) and striatum (T/S) as references, and lesions' perfusion with arterial spin labelling cerebral blood flow maps (rCBF). Scores were determined by logistic regression.

Results: 53 and 23 patients were diagnosed with TP and TRC, respectively. The accuracies were 74% for T/S, 76% for TBR, and 84% for rCBF, with best cut-off values of 1.3, 3.7 and 1.25, respectively. For hybrid variables, best accuracies were obtained with conventional analysis (82%), T1G+/PET (82%) and SWI/PET (81%). T1G+/PET, SWI/PET and rCBF ≥ 1.25 were selected to construct a 3-point score. It outperformed conventional analysis and rCBF with an AUC of 0.94 and an accuracy of 87%.

Conclusions: Our scoring approach combining F‑DOPA PET and MRI provided better accuracy than conventional PET analyses for distinguishing TP from TRC in our patients after radiation therapy.

Purpose: Spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (SDAVFs) represent the most common indication for a spinal angiography. The diagnostic reference level (DRL) for this specific endovascular procedure is still to be determined. This single-center study provides detailed dosimetrics of diagnostic spinal angiography performed in patients with SDAVFs.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of all diagnostic spinal angiographies between December 2011 and January 2021. Only patients with an SDAVF who had baseline magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), diagnostic digital subtraction angiography (DSA), treatment and follow-up at this institution were included. Dose area product (DAP, Gy cm²) and fluoroscopy time were compared between preoperative and postoperative angiographies, according to SDAVF locations (common versus uncommon), MRA results at baseline (positive versus negative) and DSA protocols (low-dose, mixed-dose, normal-dose). The 75th percentile of the DAP distribution was used to define the local DRL.

Results: A total of 62 spinal angiographies were performed in 25 patients with SDAVF. Preoperative angiographies (30/62, 48%) yielded a significantly higher DAP and longer fluoroscopy time when compared to postoperative angiographies (32/62, 53%) (p < 0.01). The local DRL was 329.41 Gy cm² for a nonspecific (n = 62), 395.59 Gy cm² for a preoperative and 138.6 Gy cm² for a postoperative spinal angiography. Preoperative angiography of uncommonly located SDAVFs yielded a significantly longer fluoroscopy time (p = 0.02). The MRA-based fistula detection had no significant impact on dosimetrics (p > 0.05). A low-dose protocol yielded a 61% reduction of DAP.

Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest novel DRLs for spinal angiography in patients with SDAVF. Dedicated low-dose protocols enable radiation dose optimization in these procedures.