Subarachnoid and intraperitoneal hemorrhage secondary to segmental arterial mediolysis: A case report and review of the literature

Differentiating between segmental arterial mediolysis and other arterial vasculopathies to establish an early diagnosis - a systematic literature review and proposal of new diagnostic criteria

Segmental arterial mediolysis (SAM) is a rare vascular disease, characterized by acute but transient vulnerability of the wall of medium-sized arteries. The most characteristic feature of SAM is its biphasic course: an injurious phase marked by acute weakness of the arterial wall leading to acute dissection and/or hemorrhage, followed by a reparative phase in which granulation tissue and fibrosis restore the injured arterial wall. Residual stenosis, aneurysms, and/or arterial wall irregularities may remain visible on future imaging studies. Differentiating between SAM and other arterial vasculopathies is difficult due to its similarities with many other vascular diseases, such as vasculitis, fibromuscular dysplasia, inherited connective tissue disorders, and isolated visceral artery dissection. In this systematic review, we provide an overview on SAM, with an emphasis on the differential diagnosis and diagnostic work-up. We propose new diagnostic criteria to help establish a prompt diagnosis of SAM, illustrated by case examples from our multidisciplinary vascular clinic.

Endovascular and Open Surgical Treatment of Ruptured Splenic Artery Aneurysms: A Case Report and a Systematic Literature Review

BACKGROUND

Ruptured splenic artery aneurysms (r-SAA), although rare, are burdened by high morbidity and mortality, even despite emergent surgical repair. It is suggested that endovascular treatment can achieve reduction in peri-operative death and complication rates, as in other vascular diseases, but evidence of such benefits is still lacking in this particular setting. We report a case of an r-SAA treated by trans-arterial embolization and then converted to open surgery for persistent bleeding, and we provide a systematic review of current results of open and endovascular repair of r-SAAs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A 50-year-old male presenting in shock for a giant r-SAA underwent emergent coil embolization and recovered hemodynamic stability. On the following day, he underwent laparotomy for evacuation of the huge intraperitoneal hematoma, but residual bleeding was noted from the splenic artery, which was ligated after coil removal, and a splenectomy was performed. A systematic literature review of the reported mortality and complications of r-SAA undergoing open (OSR) or endovascular (EVT) treatment was performed using the main search databases. All primary examples of research published since 1990 were included regardless of sample size. The main outcome measures were mortality and reinterventions. Secondary outcomes were post-operative complications.

RESULTS

We selected 129 studies reporting on 350 patients-185 treated with OSR and 165 with EVT. Hemodynamically unstable patients and ruptures during pregnancy were more frequently treated with open repair. Overall, there were 37 deaths (mortality: 10.6%)-24 in the OSR group and 13 in the EVTr group (mortality: 12.9% and 7.8% respectively, p-value: 0.84). There were 37 reinterventions after failed or complicated endovascular repair -6 treated with endovascular re-embolization and 31 with laparotomy and splenectomy (22.4%); there were 3 (1.6%) reinterventions after open repair. Overall complication rates were 7.3% in the EVT group (n: 12) and 4.2% in the OSR group (n: 7), and did not require reintervention. No significant differences in overall complications or in any specific complication rate were observed between the two groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Current results of r-SAA treatment show equipoise terms of morbidity and mortality between open and endovascular repair; however, in case of hemodynamic instability and rupture during pregnancy, open surgery might still be safer. Moreover, endovascular repair is still burdened by a significantly higher rate of reinterventions, mostly with conversions to open surgery.

Intraperitoneal hemorrhage due to segmental arterial mediolysis associated with cerebral vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage

A man in his 50s with no significant past medical history developed subarachnoid hemorrhage due to ruptured left middle cerebral artery aneurysm. On the ninth hospital day, he had a ruptured visceral aneurysm with segmental arterial mediolysis, and we successfully treated with transarterial embolization using metallic coils.

Intra-abdominal hemorrhage due to segmental arterial mediolysis of an ovarian artery pseudoaneurysm and concomitant aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: illustrative case

BACKGROUND

Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is one of the most severe neurosurgical diseases in which systemic management is important from the acute phase to the chronic phase. The authors reported a case of aneurysmal SAH associated with intra-abdominal hemorrhage possibly caused by segmental arterial mediolysis (SAM).

OBSERVATIONS

A 60-year-old woman collapsed suddenly at home. On arrival at our hospital, she was comatose and her head computed tomography (CT) showed SAH, probably from an anterior cerebral artery aneurysm. Simultaneous body CT to screen for pneumonia associated with COVID-19 incidentally detected an intra-abdominal hematoma and the bleeding point. Emergent ventriculostomy was conducted first. Because abdominal angiography detected a ruptured pseudoaneurysm of an ovarian artery, emergency embolization was subsequently performed for hemostasis. However, she deteriorated again, and her pupils became fully dilated. The patient died on day 3 of hospitalization.

LESSONS

Patients with aneurysmal SAH rarely have intra-abdominal hemorrhage in the acute stage and may have a fatal outcome. Intra-abdominal hemorrhage should be suspected in the setting of unstable vital signs, and prompt treatment is necessary.

Segmental arterial mediolysis (SAM): Systematic review and analysis of 143 cases

Segmental arterial mediolysis (SAM) is a rare but serious nonatherosclerotic, noninflammatory vasculopathy of unknown etiology that often results in dissection, aneurysm, occlusion, or stenosis of, primarily, the abdominal arteries. Current literature lacks consensus on diagnostic criteria and management options for SAM. This review summarizes 143 cases and aims to advance appropriate recognition and management of SAM. Literature review of all relevant SAM case studies from 2005 to 2018 yielded 126 individual SAM cases from 66 reports. We identified 17 additional SAM cases from our center, bringing our analysis to 143 patients. Patients with SAM were most commonly men (68%) in their 60s. Hypertension (43%), tobacco use (12%), and hyperlipidemia (12%) were common comorbidities. Abdominal pain (80%) and intraabdominal bleeding (50%) were the most common presenting symptoms. Computed tomography was the most frequently used imaging method (78%), and histology was available in 44% of cases. The most commonly affected vessels were the superior mesenteric (53%), hepatic (45%), celiac (36%), renal (26%), and splenic (25%) arteries with aneurysm (76%), dissection (61%), and arterial rupture (46%). Treatments included coil embolization (28%), abdominal organ surgery (24%), open arterial repair (21%), and medical management (20%). Case-specific treatment modalities yielded symptom relief in the vast majority (91%) of patients, with a mortality rate of 7%.

A Ruptured Blood Blister-Like Aneurysm Associated with Intraperitoneal Hemorrhage due to Segmental Arterial Mediolysis: A Case Report and Literature Review

BACKGROUND

Segmental arterial mediolysis (SAM) is a rare non-atherosclerotic, noninflammatory vascular disease, characterized by mediolysis. We report an extremely rare case of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to a ruptured blood blister-like aneurysm (BBA) of the internal carotid artery associated with SAM-related arteriopathy.

CASE DESCRIPTION

We experienced a case of SAH followed by intraperitoneal hemorrhage that occurred 12 days after the SAH onset. SAH was caused by a ruptured BBA of the internal carotid artery, which was treated by trapping with high-flow bypass. Intraperitoneal hemorrhage was caused by a rupture of a posterior inferior pancreaticoduodenal artery (PIPDA) aneurysm, which induced hypovolemic shock resulting in death in spite of endovascular internal trapping. Postmortem pathologic examination revealed that the PIPDA pseudoaneurysm was due to SAM.

CONCLUSIONS

We should pay attention to the association of SAM, which is a potentially life-threatening pathology when treating cerebral BBAs.

Unexpected intraabdominal hemorrhage due to segmental arterial mediolysis following subarachnoid hemorrhage: A case of ruptured intracranial and intraabdominal aneurysms

Background:

Segmental arterial mediolysis (SAM) is an uncommon vascular disease, which manifests as catastrophic intraabdominal hemorrhage caused by rupture of visceral dissecting aneurysms in most cases. The etiology of SAM is still unclear, but SAM may be a vasospastic disorder and the responsible pressor agent is norepinephrine. Recently, abdominal SAM coexisting with intracranial dissecting aneurysms has been reported, but the relationship between intraabdominal and intracranial aneurysms in SAM remains unclear, as no cases of concomitant abdominal SAM and ruptured intracranial saccular aneurysm have been reported.

Case Description:

A 49-year-old woman underwent emergent clipping for a ruptured saccular aneurysm at the left C1 portion of the internal carotid artery. Intraoperatively, norepinephrine was continuously administered intravenously under general anesthesia. Four days after the subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), the patient suddenly developed shock due to massive hematoma in the abdominal cavity. Imaging showed multiple aneurysms involving the splenic artery, gastroduodenal artery, common hepatic artery, and superior mesenteric artery. Coil embolization of the splenic artery was performed immediately to prevent bleeding. Subsequent treatment for cerebral vasospasm following SAH was performed with prevention of hypertension, and the patient recovered with left temporal lobe infarction. The diagnosis was abdominal SAM based on the clinical, imaging, and laboratory findings.

Conclusion:

Norepinephrine release induced by SAH and/or iatrogenic administration of norepinephrine may have promoted abdominal SAM in this case. Abdominal SAM may occur subsequent to rupture of ordinary saccular aneurysm, and may provoke catastrophic abdominal hemorrhage in the spasm stage after SAH.

Spinal artery aneurysms: clinical presentation, radiological findings and outcome

Background and purpose

Spinal arterial aneurysms are a rare cause of spinal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We performed a retrospective review of spinal arterial aneurysms not associated with spinal arteriovenus shunts from three institutions in order to better understand the clinical and imaging characteristics of these lesions.

Materials and methods

We performed a retrospective review of spinal arterial aneurysms managed at three North American institutions. For each patient, the following information was collected: demographic data, clinical presentation, comorbidities, imaging findings, and neurological status at the last follow-up. Treatment strategies and outcomes were reported.

Results

11 patients were included; 7 were women and median age was 60 years. The most common presentation was sudden back pain (81.8%). We found 3 aneurysms on the radiculomedullary artery and 8 along the radiculopial arteries. Of the 3 aneurysms on the radiculomedullary artery, 1 was treated conservatively, 1 was treated with coiling of the aneurysm and sacrifice of the radiculomedullary artery, and 1 was treated with surgical trapping. The 8 aneurysms on the radiculopial artery were treated endovascularly in 4 cases, surgically in 1 case, and conservatively in 3 cases. One surgically treated patient had a spinal subdural hematoma. There were no other complications. Mean clinical follow-up time was 20 months, and 87.5% of patients were functionally independent.

Conclusions

Spinal arterial aneurysms are lesions which commonly present with sudden back pain and spinal SAH. Conservative, surgical, and endovascular treatment options are safe and effective. Long term outcomes in these patients are generally good.