Multimodal outcome assessment after surgery for brainstem cavernous malformations

Cavernous malformations of the central nervous system: An international consensus statement

Introduction

Cavernous malformations (CM) of the central nervous system constitute rare vascular lesions. They are usually asymptomatic, which has allowed their management to become quite debatable. Even when they become symptomatic their optimal mode and timing of treatment remains controversial.

Research question

A consensus may navigate neurosurgeons through the decision-making process of selecting the optimal treatment for asymptomatic and symptomatic CMs.

Material and methods

A 17-item questionnaire was developed to address controversial issues in relation to aspects of the treatment, surgical planning, optimal surgical strategy for specific age groups, the role of stereotactic radiosurgery, as well as a follow-up pattern. Consequently, a three-stage Delphi process was ran through 19 invited experts with the goal of reaching a consensus. The agreement rate for reaching a consensus was set at 70%.

Results

A consensus for surgical intervention was reached on the importance of the patient's age, symptomatology, and hemorrhagic recurrence; and the CM's location and size. The employment of advanced MRI techniques is considered of value for surgical planning. Observation for asymptomatic eloquent or deep-seated CMs represents the commonest practice among our panel. Surgical resection is considered when a deep-seated CM becomes symptomatic or after a second bleeding episode. Asymptomatic, image-proven hemorrhages constituted no indication for surgical resection for our panelists. Consensus was also reached on not resecting any developmental venous anomalies, and on resecting the associated hemosiderin rim only in epilepsy cases.

Discussion and conclusion

Our Delphi consensus provides an expert common practice for specific controversial issues of CM patient management.

Five-year symptomatic hemorrhage risk of untreated brainstem cavernous malformations in a prospective cohort

Hemorrhage of brainstem cavernous malformation (CM) would cause various symptoms and severe disability. The study aimed to elaborate on the 5-year actuarial cumulative hazard of symptomatic hemorrhage. Patients diagnosed in our institute between 2009 and 2013 were prospectively registered. All clinical data were obtained, follow-up was performed, and risk factors were evaluated. Four hundred sixty-eight patients (217 female, 46.4%) were included in the study with a median follow-up duration of 79.0 months. A total of 137 prospective hemorrhages occurred in 107 patients (22.9%) during 1854.0 patient-years. Multivariate Cox analysis found age ≥ 55 years (hazard ratio (HR) 2.166, p = 0.002), DVA (HR 1.576, p = 0.026), superficial-seated location (HR 1.530, p = 0.047), and hemorrhage on admission (HR 2.419, p = 0.026) as independent risk factors for hemorrhage. The 5-year cumulative hazard of hemorrhage was 30.8% for the overall cohort, 47.8% for 60 patients with age ≥ 55 years, 43.7% for 146 patients with DVA, 37.9% for 272 patients with superficial-seated lesions, and 37.2% for 341 patients with hemorrhage on admission. As a stratified analysis, within subcohort of 341 patients with a hemorrhagic presentation, age ≥ 55 years (HR 3.005, p < 0.001), DVA (HR 1.801, p = 0.010), and superficial-seated location (HR 2.276, p = 0.001) remained independently significant. The 5-year cumulative hazard of hemorrhage was 52.0% for 119 patients with both DVA and hemorrhagic presentation. The 5-year cumulative hemorrhagic risk was 30.8% and was higher in subgroups if harboring risk factors that helped to predict potential hemorrhagic candidates and were useful for treatment decision-making.Clinical Trial Registration-URL: http://www.chictr.org.cn Unique identifier: ChiCTR-POC-17011575.

The occurrence of neuropathic pain following surgery of brainstem cavernous malformations

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

This study aimed to assess the occurrence and significance of postoperative neuropathic pain (NP) in patients with surgically treated brainstem cavernous malformations (BSCMs).

METHODS

Seventy-four BSCM patients surgically treated between 2003 and 2019 were reviewed for the occurrence of postoperative NP and related treatment. The relevance of BSCM location, preoperative characteristics, influence on functional outcome, postoperative health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and life satisfaction was evaluated.

RESULTS

Six out of 74 patients (8%) suffered from NP. The Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs scores ranged from 12 to 16 (mean 14.28 ± 1.6). Visual analog scale pain was 5.2 ± 2.0. NP had no effect on preoperative characteristics or functional outcome. Bodily pain (HRQOL) and vocational time (life satisfaction) were significantly decreased in NP compared to non-NP patients. Specific BSCM location (regarding brainstem nuclei involved in pain processing) and other preoperative patient- and BSCM-related parameters were not associated with the occurrence of postoperative NP. Three out of six patients were currently under NP-specific treatment. The proportion of patients suffering from postoperative NP (8%) was substantially higher compared to previously published studies. The pain affected the HRQOL of patients, most of whom were insufficiently treated and not satisfied with treatment results.

CONCLUSION

Our findings may help to raise awareness for postoperative NP in BSCM, which is essential to improve diagnosis and initiation of proper treatment, as well as preoperative informed consent of patients.

Long-term outcome and quality of life after CNS cavernoma resection: eloquent vs. non-eloquent areas

The aim of this study is to analyze the long-term quality of life after surgery of cavernoma. A monocentric retrospective study was conducted on 69 patients with cavernoma treated microsurgically between 2000 and 2016. The eloquence was adopted from Spetzler-Martin definition. A most recent follow-up was elicited between 2017 and 2019, in which the quality of life (QoL) was evaluated with the Short Form-12 questionnaire (SF12). Forty-one lesions were in eloquent group (EG), 22 in non-eloquent group (NEG), 3 in orbit, and 3 in the spinal cord. Postoperative worsening of the modified Rankin scale (mRS) occurred in 19.5% of cases in EG versus 4.5% in NEG. After a mean follow-up of 6.5 years (SD 4.6), the neurological status was better or unchanged compared to baseline in 85.4% of EG and 100% of NEG. Regarding QoL assessment of 44 patients (EG n = 27, NEG n = 14) attended the last follow-up. Patients after eloquent cavernoma resection reported a non-inferior QoL in most SF12 domains (except for physical role) compared to NEG. However, they reported general health perception inferior to norms, which was affected by the limited physical and emotional roles. At a late follow-up, the surgical morbidity was transient in the NEG and mostly recovered in the EG. The QoL comparison between eloquent and non-eloquent cavernomas created interesting and new data after prolonged follow-up. These results add value for decision-making as well as patient counseling for future encountered cases. Preoperative evaluation of QoL is recommended for future studies to assess QoL dynamics.