Hemorrhagic complications seen on immediate intraprocedural stereotactic computed tomography imaging during deep brain stimulation implantation

Cerebral Intraparenchymal Hemorrhage due to Implantation of Electrodes for Deep Brain Stimulation: Insights from a Large Single-Center Retrospective Cross-Sectional Analysis

Cerebral intraparenchymal hemorrhage due to electrode implantation (CIPHEI) is a rare but serious complication of deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. This study retrospectively investigated a large single-center cohort of DBS implantations to calculate the frequency of CIPHEI and identify patient- and procedure-related risk factors for CIPHEI and their potential interactions. We analyzed all DBS implantations between January 2013 and December 2021 in a generalized linear model for binomial responses using bias reduction to account for sparse sampling of CIPHEIs. As potential risk factors, we considered age, gender, history of arterial hypertension, level of invasivity, types of micro/macroelectrodes, and implanted DBS electrodes. If available, postoperative coagulation and platelet function were exploratorily assessed in CIPHEI patients. We identified 17 CIPHEI cases across 839 electrode implantations in 435 included procedures in 418 patients (3.9%). Exploration and cross-validation analyses revealed that the three-way interaction of older age (above 60 years), high invasivity (i.e., use of combined micro/macroelectrodes), and implantation of directional DBS electrodes accounted for 82.4% of the CIPHEI cases. Acquired platelet dysfunction was present only in one CIPHEI case. The findings at our center suggested implantation of directional DBS electrodes as a new potential risk factor, while known risks of older age and high invasivity were confirmed. However, CIPHEI risk is not driven by the three factors alone but by their combined presence. The contributions of the three factors to CIPHEI are hence not independent, suggesting that potentially modifiable procedural risks should be carefully evaluated when planning DBS surgery in patients at risk.

Intracerebral hemorrhage after deep brain stimulation surgery guided with microelectrode recording: analysis of 297 procedures

OBJECTIVES

Report the incidence of symptomatic and asymptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) in patients submitted to deep brain stimulation (DBS) guided with microelectrode recording (MER) with further analysis of potential risk factors, both inherent to the patient and related to the pathology and surgical technique.

METHODS

We performed a retrospective observational study. 297 DBS procedures were concluded in 277 patients in a single hospital centre between January 2010 and December 2020. All surgeries were guided with MER. We analysed the incidence of symptomatic and asymptomatic ICH and its correlation to age, sex, diagnosis, hypertension and perioperative hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, antiplatelet drugs, anatomic target, and number of MER trajectories.

RESULTS

There were a total of 585 electrodes implanted in 277 patients. 16 ICH were observed, of which 6 were symptomatic and 10 asymptomatic, none of which incurred in permanent neurological deficit. The location of the hemorrhage varied between cortical and subcortical plans, always in relation with the trajectory or the final position of the electrode. The incidence of symptomatic ICH per lead-implantation was 1%, and the CT-scan demonstrated asymptomatic ICH in 1.7% more patients. Male patients or with hypertension are 2.7 and 2.2 times more likely to develop ICH, respectively. However, none of these characteristics has been shown to have a statistically significant association with the occurrence of ICH, as well as age, diagnosis, diabetes, dyslipidaemia, antiplatelet drugs, anatomic target, number of MER trajectories and perioperative hypertension.

CONCLUSIONS

MER-guided DBS is a safe technique, with low incidence of ICH and no permanent deficits in our study. Hypertension and male sex seem to be risk factors for the development of ICH in this surgery. Nevertheless, no statistically significant factors were found for the occurrence of this complication.

Complications of deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's disease: a single-center experience of 517 consecutive cases

BACKGROUND

The number of deep brain stimulation (DBS) procedures is rapidly rising as well as the novel indications. Reporting adverse events related to surgery and to the hardware used is essential to define the risk-to-benefit ratio and develop novel strategies to improve it.

OBJECTIVE

To analyze DBS complications (both procedure-related and hardware-related) and further assess potential predictive factors.

METHODS

Five hundred seventeen cases of DBS for Parkinson's disease were performed between 2006 and 2021 in a single center (mean follow-up: 4.68 ± 2.86 years). Spearman's Rho coefficient was calculated to search for a correlation between the occurrence of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and the number of recording tracks. Multiple logistic regression analyzed the probability of developing seizures and ICH given potential risk factors. Kaplan-Meier curves were performed to analyze the cumulative proportions of hardware-related complications.

RESULTS

Mortality rate was 0.2%, while permanent morbidity 0.6%. 2.5% of cases suffered from ICH which were not influenced by the number of tracks used for recordings. 3.3% reported seizures that were significantly affected by perielectrode brain edema and age. The rate of perielectrode brain edema was significantly higher for Medtronic's leads compared to Boston Scientific's (Χ2(1)= 5.927, P= 0.015). 12.2% of implants reported Hardware-related complications, the most common of which were wound revisions (7.2%). Internal pulse generator models with smaller profiles displayed more favorable hardware-related complication survival curves compared to larger designs (X2(1)= 8.139, P= 0.004).

CONCLUSION

Overall DBS has to be considered a safe procedure, but future research is needed to decrease the rate of hardware-related complications which may be related to both the surgical technique and to the specific hardware's design. The increased incidence of perielectrode brain edema associated with certain lead models may likewise deserve future investigation.

Optimized Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery to Avoid Vascular Damage: A Single-Center Retrospective Analysis of Path Planning for Various Deep Targets by MRI Image Fusion

Co-registration of stereotactic and preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images can serve as an alternative for trajectory planning. However, the role of this strategy has not yet been proven by any control studies, and the trajectories of commonly used targets have not been systematically studied. The purpose of this study was to analyze the trajectories for various targets, and to assess the role of trajectories realized on fused images in preventing intracranial hemorrhage (ICH). Data from 1019 patients who underwent electrode placement for deep brain stimulation were acquired. Electrode trajectories were not planned for 396 patients, whereas trajectories were planned for 623 patients. Preoperative various MRI sequences and frame-placed MRI images were fused for trajectory planning. The patients’ clinical characteristics, the stereotactic systems, intracranial hemorrhage cases, and trajectory angles were recorded and analyzed. No statistically significant differences in the proportions of male patients, patients receiving local anesthesia, and diseases or target distributions (p > 0.05) were found between the trajectory planning group and the non-trajectory planning group, but statistically significant differences were observed in the numbers of both patients and leads associated with symptomatic ICH (p < 0.05). Regarding the ring and arc angle values, statistically significant differences were found among various target groups (p < 0.05). The anatomic structures through which leads passed were found to be diverse. Trajectory planning based on MRI fusion is a safe technique for lead placement. The electrode for each given target has its own relatively constant trajectory.

Estimating the Risk of Deep Brain Stimulation in the Modern Era: 2008 to 2020

BACKGROUND

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) was first approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration in 1997. Although the fundamentals of DBS remain the same, hardware, software, and imaging have evolved significantly.

OBJECTIVE

To test our hypothesis that the aggregate complication rate in the medical literature in the past 12 years would be lower than what is often cited based on early experience with DBS surgery.

METHODS

PubMed, PsycINFO, and EMBASE were queried for studies from 2008 to 2020 that included patients treated with DBS from 2007 to 2019. This yielded 34 articles that evaluated all complications of DBS surgery, totaling 2249 patients.

RESULTS

The overall complication rate in this study was 16.7% per patient. There was found to be a systemic complication rate of 0.89%, intracranial complication rate of 2.7%, neurological complication rate of 4.6%, hardware complication rate of 2.2%, and surgical site complication rate of 3.4%. The infection and erosion rate was 3.0%.

CONCLUSION

This review suggests that surgical complication rates have decreased since the first decade after DBS was first FDA approved. Understanding how to minimize complications from the inception of a technique should receive more attention.

How accurately are subthalamic nucleus electrodes implanted relative to the ideal stimulation location for Parkinson's disease?

INTRODUCTION

The efficacy of subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson's disease (PD) depends on how closely electrodes are implanted relative to an individual's ideal stimulation location. Yet, previous studies have assessed how closely electrodes are implanted relative to the planned location, after homogenizing data to a reference. Thus here, we measured how accurately electrodes are implanted relative to an ideal, dorsal STN stimulation location, assessed on each individual's native imaging. This measure captures not only the technical error of stereotactic implantation but also constraints imposed by planning a suitable trajectory.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study assessed 226 electrodes in 113 consecutive PD patients implanted with bilateral STN-DBS by experienced clinicians utilizing awake, microelectrode guided, surgery. The error (Euclidean distance) between the actual electrode trajectory versus a nominated ideal, dorsal STN stimulation location was determined in each hemisphere on native imaging and predictive factors sought.

RESULTS

The median electrode location error was 1.62 mm (IQR = 1.23 mm). This error exceeded 3 mm in 28/226 electrodes (12.4%). Location error did not differ between hemispheres implanted first or second, suggesting brain shift was minimised. Location error did not differ between electrodes positioned with (48/226), or without, a preceding microelectrode trajectory shift (suggesting such shifts were beneficial). There was no relationship between location error and case order, arguing against a learning effect.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION

The proximity of STN-DBS electrodes to a nominated ideal, dorsal STN, stimulation location is highly variable, even when implanted by experienced clinicians with brain shift minimized, and without evidence of a learning effect. Using this measure, we found that assessments on awake patients (microelectrode recordings and clinical examination) likely yielded beneficial intraoperative decisions to improve positioning. In many patients the error is likely to have reduced therapeutic efficacy. More accurate methods to implant STN-DBS electrodes relative to the ideal stimulation location are needed.

Safety of Deep Brain Stimulation Lead Placement on Patients Requiring Anticlotting Therapies

BACKGROUND

Limited studies exist to support the safety of performing neuromodulation surgeries in patients whose anticlotting medication has been held. Here, we assess the safety of performing deep brain stimulation (DBS) in this patient population.

METHODS

All consecutive DBS patients who underwent lead and battery placement/revision at our institution between 2011 and 2020 were included in this Institutional Review Board-approved prospective outcomes database. We retrospectively recorded adverse events occurring within 90 days of surgery.

RESULTS

The study included 226 patients who underwent 381 lead placements in 267 surgeries. Of the 267 surgeries included in this study, 176 (66%) were performed on patients not on anticoagulants and 89 (33%) cases were on patients on 1 drug. Two (0.7%) cases involved a patient taking 2 drugs. A total of 49 adverse events were seen. Thirteen occurred in patients taking anticoagulants. There was no difference in adverse event rate between patients on anticlotting medication and those not (χ² [1] = 1.523, P = 0.2171). No clot-related sequelae occurred in any patient. Three hemorrhages occurred, all in patients not on anticoagulants.

CONCLUSIONS

We found no increased risk of complications in patients routinely on anticlotting medication undergoing DBS lead placement. We show that our protocol was successful in balancing increased risks of bleeding and of thromboembolic events in this patient group.