Long-term functional independence after minimally invasive endoscopic intracerebral hemorrhage evacuation

Medical versus neurosurgical treatment in ICH patients: a single center experience

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

The effect of surgical treatment for spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) remains uncertain. We conducted an observational retrospective cohort study on supra-centimeter spontaneous ICH treated with either neurosurgical or conservative management. The baseline demographics and risk factors were correlated with in-hospital mortality and 3 and 6-month survival rates stratified by management.

METHODS

We included all patients with evidence of spontaneous ICH > 1 cm detected by CT and admitted between august 2020 and march 2021 to the "SMM" Hospital in Perugia.

RESULTS

Onehundredandtwentytwo patients were included in the study, and 45% (n.55) were surgically treated. The mean age was 71.9 ± 15.3, and 61% (n.75) were males. Intra-hospital mortality ended up being 31% (n.38), 3 months-survival was 63% (n.77) and 6 months-survival was 60% (n.73). From the multivariate analysis of the surgical patients versus medical patient, we observed that the surgical patients were younger (67.5 ± 14.9 vs 75.5 ± 14.7 y; OR 0.87; Cl 95% 0.85-0.94; p 0.001), with greater ICH volume at the onset (61 ± 39.4 cc vs 51 ± 64 cc; OR 1.03; Cl 95% 1.005-1.07; p 0.05), more midline shift (7.61 ± 5.54 mm vs 4.09 ± 5.88 mm; OR 1.37; Cl 95% 1.045-1.79; p 0.023), and a higher ICH score (3 vs 2 mean ICH score; OR 21.12; Cl 95% 2.6-170.6; p 0.004). Intra-hospital mortality in the surgical group and in the conservative treatment group was respectively 33% vs 30%, 3 month-survival was 64% vs 63% and 6 month- survival were 60% in both groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Our patient cohort shows no overall benefit from surgery over conservative treatment, but surgical patients were younger and had larger ICH volume.

Purely Endoscopic Evacuation of Intracranial Hematomas

Cerebral hemorrhage is a frequent disease and one of the main causes of disabilities. Even in the case of cerebral hemorrhage, if there were a treatment that would improve the functional prognosis, the benefits would be immeasurable. Although there are limited reports with a high level of evidence in past studies, it has been found that surgery can be effective if a large amount of hematoma can be removed in a minimally invasive manner. Also, it has become clear that the control of bleeding becomes a problem when surgery is performed within 2 days after the onset of stroke and that the therapeutic time window might be longer. In Japan, since the introduction of the transparent sheath by Nishihara et al., endoscopic hematoma removal has been widely performed and has become the standard surgical procedure. The three basic equipment needed for this surgery are a rigid scope, a suction coagulator, and a transparent sheath. The key point of the surgery is to search for hematomas and bleeding points through a transparent sheath and coagulate the bleeding vessels. In this chapter, we will introduce surgical techniques using these devices, but it is important to carefully decide on surgical options by considering your own technique, the condition of each patient, and the devices available in the area.

Characterization of length of stay after minimally invasive endoscopic intracerebral hemorrhage evacuation

BACKGROUND

Minimally invasive evacuation may help ameliorate outcomes after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). However, hospital length of stay (LOS) post-evacuation is often long and costly.

OBJECTIVE

To examine factors associated with LOS in a large cohort of patients who underwent minimally invasive endoscopic evacuation.

METHODS

Patients presenting to a large health system with spontaneous supratentorial ICH qualified for minimally invasive endoscopic evacuation if they met the following inclusion criteria: age ≥18, premorbid modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score ≤3, hematoma volume ≥15 mL, and presenting National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score ≥6. Demographic, clinical, radiographic, and operative characteristics were included in a multivariate logistic regression for hospital and ICU LOS dichotomized into short and prolonged stay at 14 and 7 days, respectively.

RESULTS

Among 226 patients who underwent minimally invasive endoscopic evacuation, the median intensive care unit and hospital LOS were 8 (4-15) days and 16 (9-27) days, respectively. A greater extent of functional impairment on presentation (OR per NIHSS point 1.10 (95% CI 1.04 to 1.17), P=0.007), concurrent intraventricular hemorrhage (OR=2.46 (1.25 to 4.86), P=0.02), and deep origin (OR=per point 2.42 (1.21 to 4.83), P=0.01) were associated with prolonged hospital LOS. A longer delay from ictus to evacuation (OR per hour 1.02 (1.01 to 1.04), P=0.007) and longer procedure time (OR per hour 1.91 (1.26 to 2.89), P=0.002) were associated with prolonged ICU LOS. Prolonged hospital and ICU LOS were in turn longitudinally associated with a lower rate of discharge to acute rehabilitation (40% vs 70%, P<0.0001) and worse 6-month mRS outcomes (5 (4-6) vs 3 (2-4), P<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS

We present factors associated with prolonged LOS, which in turn was associated with poor long-term outcomes. Factors associated with LOS may help to inform patient and clinician expectations of recovery, guide protocols for clinical trials, and select suitable populations for minimally invasive endoscopic evacuation.

The impact of time to evacuation on outcomes in endoscopic surgery for supratentorial spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage: a single-center retrospective study

Supratentorial spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (SICH) can be treated with endoscopic surgery, but the optimal timing remains uncertain. We retrospectively analyzed data from 46 patients who underwent endoscopic surgery for supratentorial SICH. We examined the relationship between time to evacuation and functional outcome at 3 months, adjusting for prognostic factors. Surgical outcomes and complications were compared between patients with early (≤ 12 h) or late (> 12 h) evacuation. Median time to evacuation was 12 h, and the rate of unfavorable outcome (modified Rankin Scale > 3 at 3 months) was 32.6%. Longer time to evacuation was independently associated with unfavorable outcome (odds ratio per hour delay: 1.26). Late evacuation carried a 7.25-fold higher risk of unfavorable outcome compared to early evacuation. This association held across subgroups based on hematoma volume, location, and intraventricular extension (P for interaction > 0.05). Patients with late evacuation had fewer spot signs (24% vs. 4.8%, P = 0.035) and markers of hemorrhagic expansion (36% vs. 9.5%, P = 0.018), longer neurosurgical intensive care unit (NSICU) stay (3.2 vs. 1.9 days, P = 0.011) and hospital stay (15.7 vs. 11.9 days, P = 0.014), and higher 30-day mortality (28.6 vs. 4%, P = 0.036) and complication rates (57.1% vs. 28.0%, P = 0.023). This study suggests a potential association between early endoscopic evacuation of supratentorial SICH and improved functional outcomes, lower 30-day mortality and reduced complications. The need for timely intervention in managing supratentorial SICH is highlighted, yet further validation through multi-center prospective studies is essential to substantiate these findings and provide a higher level of evidence.

Prognosticators of Functional Outcome After Supratentorial Minimally Invasive Intracranial Hemorrhage Evacuation With Tubular Retractor Systems

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Prognosticators of good functional outcome after minimally invasive surgical (MIS) intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) evacuation are poorly defined. This study aims to investigate clinical and radiographic prognosticators of poor functional outcome after MIS evacuation of ICH with tubular retractor systems.

METHODS

Single-center retrospective review of adult (age ≥18 years) patients who underwent surgical evacuation of a spontaneous supratentorial ICH evacuation using tubular retractors from 2013 to 2022 was performed. Clinical and radiographic factors, such as antiplatelet/anticoagulant use, initial NIH Stroke Scale, ICH score, premorbid modified Rankin Scale (mRS), intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) severity according to the modified Graeb scale, and preoperative/postoperative ICH volume, were collected. The main outcome was poor functional outcome, defined as mRS score of 4-6 within 1 year postoperatively.

RESULTS

Eighty-eight patients were included. Clinical follow-up data were available for 64 (73%) patients. Of those, 43 (67%) had a poor functional outcome. On multivariate Cox regression, postoperative ICH volume ≥15 mL (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.46 [95% CI: 1.25-4.87]; P = .010) and higher modified Graeb score (HR = 1.04 [95% CI: 1-1.1]; P = .035] significantly increased the risk of poor functional outcome. Elevated postoperative ICH volume was predicted by the presence of lobar ICH (vs nonlobar, OR = 3.32 [95% CI: 1.01-11.55]; P = .043) and higher preoperative ICH volume (OR = 1.05 [1.02-1.08]; P < .001). A minimum of 60% ICH evacuation yielded an improvement in mRS 4-6 rates (HR 0.3 [95% CI: 0.1-0.8], P = .013). In patients without IVH and with a >80% ICH evacuation, the rate of mRS 4-6 was 42% compared with 67% in the whole patient sample ( P = .017).

CONCLUSION

Increased IVH volumes and residual postoperative ICH volumes are associated with poor functional outcome after MIS ICH evacuation. Postoperative ICH volume was associated with lobar ICH location as well as preoperative ICH volume. These factors may help to prognosticate patient outcomes and improve selection criteria for MIS ICH evacuation techniques.

Preoperative cerebral angiography nearly doubles the rate of diffusion-weighted imaging lesion detection following minimally invasive surgery for intracerebral hemorrhage

BACKGROUND

Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) lesions have been linked to poor outcomes after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). We aimed to assess the impact of cerebral digital subtraction angiography (DSA) on the presence of DWI lesions in patients who underwent minimally invasive surgery (MIS) for ICH.

METHODS

Retrospective chart review was performed on ICH patients treated with MIS in a single health system from 2015 to 2021. One hundred and seventy consecutive patients who underwent postoperative MRIs were reviewed. Univariate analyses were conducted to determine associations. Variables with p<0.05 were included in multivariate analyses.

RESULTS

DWI lesions were present in 88 (52%) patients who underwent MIS for ICH. Of the 83 patients who underwent preoperative DSA, 56 (67%) patients demonstrated DWI lesions. In this DSA cohort, older age, severe leukoaraiosis, larger preoperative hematoma volume, and increased presenting National Institutes of Health Stroke Score (NIHSS) were independently associated with DWI lesion identification (p<0.05). In contrast, of 87 patients who did not undergo DSA, 32 (37%) patients demonstrated DWI lesions on MRI. In the non-DSA cohort, presenting systolic blood pressure, intraventricular hemorrhage, and NIHSS were independently associated with DWI lesions (p<0.05). Higher DWI lesion burden was independently associated with poor modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at 6 months on a univariate (p=0.02) and multivariate level (p=0.02).

CONCLUSIONS

In this cohort of ICH patients who underwent minimally invasive evacuation, preprocedural angiography was associated with the presence of DWI lesions on post-ICH evacuation MRI. Furthermore, the burden of DWI lesions portends a worse prognosis after ICH.

Early and effective intracerebral hemorrhage evacuation is associated with a lower 1-year residual cavity volume and better functional outcomes

BACKGROUND

We explored the clinical significance of the residual hematoma cavity 1 year after minimally invasive intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) evacuation.

METHODS

Patients presenting with spontaneous supratentorial ICH were evaluated for minimally invasive surgical evacuation. Inclusion criteria included age ≥18 years, preoperative hematoma volume (Hv) ≥15 mL, presenting National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score ≥6, and premorbid modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score ≤3. Patients with longitudinal CT scans at least 3 months after evacuation were included in the study. Remnant cavity volumes (Cv) after evacuation were computed using semi-automatic volumetric segmentation software. Relative cavity volume (rCv) was defined as the ratio of the preoperative Hv to the remnant Cv.

RESULTS

108 patients with a total of 484 head CT scans were included in the study. The median postoperative Cv was 2.4 (IQR 0.0-11) mL, or just 6% (0-33%) of the preoperative Hv. The median residual Cv on the final head CT scan a median of 13 months (range 11-27 months) after surgery had increased to 9.4 (IQR 3.1-18) mL, or 25% (10-60%) of the preoperative Hv. rCv on the final head CT scan was negatively associated with measures of operative success including evacuation percentage, postoperative Hv ≤15 mL, and decreased time from ictus to evacuation. rCv on the final head CT scan was also associated with a worse 6-month functional outcome (β per mRS point 17.6%, P<0.0001; area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 0.91).

CONCLUSION

After minimally invasive ICH evacuation the hematoma lesion decompresses significantly, with a residual Cv just 6% of the original lesion, but then gradually increases in size over time. Early and high percentage ICH evacuation may reduce the remnant Cv over time which, in turn, is associated with improved functional outcomes.