Prognostic factors of clinical outcome after neuronavigation-assisted hematoma drainage in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage

Bony Surface-Matching Registration of Neuronavigation with Sectioned 3-Dimensional Skull in Prone Position

BACKGROUND

Neuronavigation has become an essential system for brain tumor resections. It is sometimes difficult to obtain accurate registration of the neuronavigation with the patient in the prone position. Bony surface-matching registration should be more precise than skin surface-matching registration; however, it is difficult to establish bony registration with limited exposed bone. We created a new bony surface-matching method to a sectioned 3-dimensional (3D) virtual skull in a neuronavigation system and registered with a sectioned 3D skull. In this study, the bony surface-matching with sectioned 3D registration is applied to provide precise registration for brain tumor resection in the prone position.

METHODS

From May 2023 to April 2024, 17 patients who underwent brain tumor resection in the prone position were enrolled. The navigation system StealthStation S8 (Medtronic, Dublin, Ireland) was used. Bony surface-matching registration with a whole 3D skull in a neuronavigation system was performed. Next, a sectioned 3D skull was made according to the surgical location to compare with the whole 3D skull registration. A phantom model was also used to validate the whole and sectioned 3D skull registration.

RESULTS

Whole 3D skull registration was successful for only 2 patients (11.8%). However, sectioned 3D skull registration was successful for 16 patients (94.1%). The examinations with a phantom skull model also showed superiority of sectioned 3D skull registration to whole 3D skull registration.

CONCLUSIONS

Sectioned 3D skull registration was superior to whole 3D skull registration. The sectioned 3D skull method could provide accurate registration with limited exposed bone.

Safe and time-saving treatment method for acute cerebellar infarction: Navigation-guided burr-hole aspiration - 6-years single center experience

OBJECTIVE

While patients with medically intractable acute cerebellar infarction typically undergo suboccipital craniectomy and removal of the infarcted tissue, this procedure is associated with long operating times and postoperative complications. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of minimally invasive navigationguided burr hole aspiration surgery for the treatment of acute cerebellar infarction.

METHODS

Between January 2015 and December 2021, 14 patients with acute cerebellar infarction, who underwent navigation-guided burr hole aspiration surgery, were enrolled in this study.

RESULTS

The preoperative mean Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score was 12.7, and the postoperative mean GCS score was 14.3. The mean infarction volume was 34.3 cc at admission and 23.5 cc immediately following surgery. Seven days after surgery, the mean infarction volume was 15.6 cc. There were no surgery-related complications during the 6-month follow-up period and no evidence of clinical deterioration. The mean operation time from skin incision to catheter insertion was 28 min, with approximately an additional 13 min for extra-ventricular drainage. The mean Glasgow Outcome Scale score after 6 months was 4.8.

CONCLUSIONS

Navigation-guided burr hole aspiration surgery is less time-consuming and invasive than conventional craniectomy, and is a safe and effective treatment option for acute cerebellar infarction in selected cases, with no surgery-related complication.

Minimally Invasive Neuroendoscopic Surgery for Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Review of the Rationale and Associated Complications

Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is associated with a poor prognosis. Its mortality rate exceeds 40%, and 10-15% of survivors remain fully dependent. Considering the limited number of effective therapeutic options in such cases, the possibilities for surgical interventions aimed at removal of a hematoma should always be borne in mind. Although conventional surgery for deep-seated ICH has failed to show an improvement in outcomes, use of minimally invasive techniques-in particular, neuroendoscopic procedures-may be more effective and has demonstrated promising results. Although there are certain risks of morbidities (including rebleeding, epilepsy, meningitis, infection, pneumonia, and digestive tract disorders) and a nonnegligible risk of mortality, their incidence rates after neuroendoscopic evacuation of ICH compare favorably with those after conventional surgery. Prevention of complications requires careful postoperative surveillance of the patient and, preferably, treatment in a neurointensive care unit, as well as early detection and appropriate management of associated comorbidities.

Natural history and surgical management of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage: a systematic review

INTRODUCTION

Management of spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remains controversial despite efforts to produce high level evidence in the past few years. We systematically examined the pooled literature data on the natural history and surgical management of ICH.

EVIDENCE ACQUISITION

A systematic review was performed using the PubMed and Embase databases, encompassing English, full-text articles, reporting treatment outcomes for the conservative and surgical management of ICH.

EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS

A total of 91 studies met the eligibility criteria (total of 16,411 ICH cases). The most common locations for an ICH were the basal ganglia for both the conservative (68.7%) and surgical cohorts (58.4%). Patients in the non-operative group (40.5%) were older (mean age 62.9 years; range 12.0-94.0), had a higher Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score at presentation (mean GCS 10.2; range 3-15) and lower ICH volume (mean 36.9 mL). When managed non-operatively, a favorable functional outcome was encountered in 25.7% (95% CI 16.9-34.5) of patients, with a 22.2% (95% CI 16.6-27.8) mortality rate. Patients who underwent surgery (59.5%) were younger (mean age 58.8 years; range 12.0-94.0), had a lower GCS at presentation (mean GCS 8.2; range 3-15) and larger ICH volume (mean 58.3 mL; range 8.2-140.0). Craniotomy with hematoma evacuation was the preferred surgical technique (38.6%). A favorable functional outcome was encountered in 29.8% (95% CI 23.8-35.8) of operated patients, with a 21.3% (95% CI 16.3-26.3) mortality rate.

CONCLUSIONS

For many ICH cases, the reviewed literature allows to define surgical and conservative candidates. However, there are still some ICH-cases where management remains controversial.

Prognostic significance of leukoaraiosis in intracerebral hemorrhage: A meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) have high disability and mortality. Leukoaraiosis refers to the diffuse abnormalities of white matter on neuroimaging, which has been suggested to be with poor outcome in patients with ICH. This meta-analysis was performed to summarize the current evidence on the prognostic significance of leukoaraiosis in ICH patients.

METHODS

Databases were searched for published studies about leukoaraiosis and prognosis in patients with ICH. Data from eligible studies were extracted. Odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from each study were combined with DerSimonian-Laird method and random effect model for quantitative analysis. Begg's funnel plot was adopted to assess the publication bias.

RESULTS

A total of nine studies with 4948 patients were finally included in this meta-analysis. Six studies reported functional outcome, two studies reported mortality, and another study reported both functional outcome and mortality. The meta-analysis showed that leukoaraiosis was significantly associated with worse functional outcome in patients with ICH (OR = 1.40, 95%CI 1.17-1.68, P < .001). In addition, leukoaraiosis was also significantly associated with higher mortality in patients with ICH (OR = 1.59, 95%CI 1.21-2.08, P = .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Leukoaraiosis is significantly associated with both worse functional outcome and higher mortality in patients with ICH. Leukoaraiosis can be a useful imaging marker for predicting outcome in patients with ICH.

Sonographic-Assisted Catheter-Positioning in Intracerebral Hemorrhage

Introduction: Intracerebral structures and pathologies such as intracerebral hemorrhages (ICH) can be displayed sufficiently by transcranial sonography (TCS). In some patients with ICH clot evacuation via surgery or catheter drainage to reduce secondary parenchymal injuries may be necessary. We hypothesized that bedside-placement of drainage-catheters, which is a minimal invasive evacuation-technique complicated by a higher rate of catheter misplacement can be optimized via TCS.

Methods: Eleven consecutive ICH-patients diagnosed via computertomography (CT) were included in this prospective observational pilot study. All patients were examined via TCS, firstly in order to illustrate the hematoma, secondly to optimize catheter placement. Catheter placement was primarily validated via CT.

Results: The TCS-depiction of ICH-extension was optimal in 10 patients; one patient showed a partially insufficient transtemporal bone window. Catheter positioning could be traced and adapted correctly via TCS-examination in all patients. Follow-up CT-scans confirmed TCS-description of catheter-positioning in all patients without any complications. Reduction of symptoms and ICH-volumes confirmed effectiveness of treatment.

Conclusions: The illustration of ICH and the drainage-placement is possible via TCS in a cost- and time-efficient way.

Intracerebral Hemorrhage Location and Functional Outcomes of Patients: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) has the highest mortality rate among all strokes. While ICH location, lobar versus non-lobar, has been established as a predictor of mortality, less is known regarding the relationship between more specific ICH locations and functional outcome. This review summarizes current work studying how ICH location affects outcome, with an emphasis on how studies designate regions of interest.

METHODS

A systematic search of the OVID database for relevant studies was conducted during August 2015. Studies containing an analysis of functional outcome by ICH location or laterality were included. As permitted, the effect size of individual studies was standardized within a meta-analysis.

RESULTS

Thirty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria, the majority of which followed outcome at 3 months. Most studies found better outcomes on the Modified Rankin Scale (mRS) or Glasgow Outcome Score (GOS) with lobar compared to deep ICHs. While most aggregated deep structures for analysis, some studies found poorer outcomes for thalamic ICH in particular. Over half of the studies did not have specific methodological considerations for location designations, including blinding or validation.

CONCLUSIONS

Multiple studies have examined motor-centric outcomes, with few studies examining quality of life (QoL) or cognition. Better functional outcomes have been suggested for lobar versus non-lobar ICH; few studies attempted finer topographic comparisons. This study highlights the need for improved reporting in ICH outcomes research, including a detailed description of hemorrhage location, reporting of the full range of functional outcome scales, and inclusion of cognitive and QoL outcomes.

Prognostic Significance of Ultraearly Hematoma Growth in Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage Patients Receiving Hematoma Evacuation

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the association between ultraearly hematoma growth (uHG) and clinical outcome in patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) receiving hematoma evacuation.

METHODS

Supratentorial sICH patients receiving hematoma evacuation within 24 hours after ictus were enrolled in this study. uHG was defined as baseline hematoma volume/onset-to-computed tomography (CT) time (mL/h). The outcome was assessed by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at 3 months. Unfavorable outcome was defined as mRS >2.

RESULTS

A total of 93 patients were enrolled in this study. The mean uHG was 10.3 ± 5.5 mL/h. In 69 (74.2%) of patients, the outcome was unfavorable at 3 months. The uHG in patients with unfavorable outcome were significantly higher than in those with favorable outcome (11.0 ± 6.1 mL/h vs. 8.3 ± 2.5 mL/h, P = 0.003). The optimal cutoff of uHG for predicting unfavorable outcome was 8.7 mL/h. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of uHG >8.7 mL/h for predicting unfavorable outcome were 56.5%, 75.0%, 86.7%, and 37.5%, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

uHG is a helpful predictor of unfavorable outcome in sICH patients treated with hematoma evacuation. The optimal cutoff of uHG to assist in predicting unfavorable outcome in sICH patients receiving hematoma evacuation is 8.7mL/h.

The role of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide in evaluating the prognosis of patients with intracerebral hemorrhage

A prognostic biomarker that can provide a good prediction of prognosis in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) would be beneficial in guiding the initial management decisions in the setting of ICH. N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a biomarker of prognosis in patients with cardiovascular disease and ischemic stroke. However, the prognostic role of NT-proBNP in patients with spontaneous ICH is still a controversial issue. This study aimed to determine the prognostic value of NT-proBNP in patients with spontaneous ICH. A total of 132 patients from 571 ICH cases in inpatient settings were enrolled in this study. Blood samples from each subject were obtained and analyzed for NT-proBNP on admission and on days 4 and 7. The first end point was functional outcome at discharge, which was dichotomized into favorable or unfavorable; the secondary end point was mortality within 6 months after ICH. Compared with the baseline levels on admission after ICH, the NT-proBNP levels increased markedly on day 4 (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the NT-proBNP level on day 4, the ICH score, and the APACHE II score were independent prognostic factors of functional outcome and 6-month mortality in ICH patients. A cutoff NT-proBNP level of 999.85 pg/ml predicted an unfavorable functional outcome (with 66.1% sensitivity and 98.7% specificity) and 6-month mortality (with 93.8% sensitivity and 92.0% specificity) in ICH patients. Thus, the NT-proBNP level on day 4 was found to be a powerful prognostic predictor of functional outcome and 6-month mortality in ICH patients, which would be beneficial to guiding the initial management decisions in the setting of ICH.