Periprocedural management of patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Anesthesiologists and intensivists may be involved in the management of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) patients at various stages of care. This article will review the recent advances in the periprocedural management of aSAH patients.

RECENT FINDINGS

New scoring systems to assess gravity and prognosis of aSAH patients have been evaluated and proposed. Rebleeding still remains, with early aneurysmal treatment, a major challenge in the first hours of aSAH management. In the last decades, the treatment of the aSAH has shifted from clipping to coiling and more recently, the use of flow diversion technique has been introduced in selected patients. Although these improvements allow treatment of more complex aneurysms, they have implications for the anesthesiologist, including requiring the management of anticoagulation with its inherent risks. Even though knowledge, monitoring, and management of postprocedural phase of aSAH patients has improved, vasospasm and cerebral-delayed ischemia still remain the major and devastating complications in the postoperative course of aSAH patients.

SUMMARY

Despite recent progress in the scoring, diagnosis, and treatment of aSAH patients, the periprocedural management of these patients is still a major challenge for anesthesiologists and intensivists, who are involved from the first phase of the aneurysm rupture through the postoperative phases and vasospasm period.

Thyroid Autoantibodies and the Clinical Presentation of Moyamoya Disease: A Prospective Study

BACKGROUND

Moyamoya is a rare cerebrovascular disease characterized by the progressive occlusion of the intracranial carotid artery. Thyroid autoantibodies have been found to be associated with the disease, but their clinical significance has never been studied. The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between thyroid autoantibodies and the clinical presentation of moyamoya.

METHODS

This is a prospective study including 37 patients with moyamoya disease (MMD) or unilateral moyamoya (uMM). Thyroid function and thyroid autoantibodies (e.g., antithyroperoxidase and antithyroglobulin) were investigated. We studied the effect of gender, age, type of moyamoya (uMM versus MMD), and thyroid autoantibodies on the clinical presentation, dichotomized into aggressive (hemorrhage, major stroke, or frequent transient ischemic attack [TIA]) and nonaggressive presentation (headache, rare TIAs, and incidental diagnosis) according to the criteria of the Research Committee on Spontaneous Occlusion of the Circle of Willis.

RESULTS

Of the 37 patients included in the study, the autoantibodies were elevated in 9 (24.3%). An aggressive presentation occurred in 21 patients (hemorrhage in 11, major stroke in 9, frequent TIAs in 1). The autoantibodies were elevated in 8 of the 21 patients (38.09%) with an aggressive presentation and in 1 of those presenting with minor symptoms (6.2%). The presence of elevated autoantibodies was the only variable associated with an aggressive presentation in the multivariate logistic analysis (P = .048).

CONCLUSIONS

When the serum concentration of the thyroid autoantibodies is increased, the patients have a higher risk of an aggressive presentation. Our results support the hypothesis that activation of immune-mediated processes affects the moyamoya physiopathology.

Universal Bypass for Treatment of Symptomatic Moyamoya Disease or Moyamoya Syndrome. Analysis of a Personal Case Series on Behalf of the Italian Moyamoya Association

BACKGROUND

Moyamoya (MM) is a very rare cerebrovascular disease, particularly in Caucasians. We describe the results of an Italian case series where the mainstay of treatment was a bypass or a combined approach.

METHODS

An analysis of a prospectively collected database was carried out. The main objective was to investigate (1) the risk of perioperative stroke and surgical complications, (2) the risk of new ischemic events, and (3) the risk of new hemorrhages at follow-up (mean follow-up: 2.2 years).

RESULTS

Between January 2011 and January 2015 we carried out 34 bypasses in 23 patients with MM (15 MM disease, 5 unilateral MM, 3 MM syndrome); mean age was 34 (range:1-57). The mortality and definitive morbidity rates were 0 %. Two patients suffered from transient aphasia and one developed partial palsy of the facial nerve. Five of the 12 patients with preoperative fixed deficits improved. No patient with preoperative ischemia experienced new ischemic symptoms. Rebleeding occurred in 1 of the 11 patients with a hemorrhagic presentation (9 %).

CONCLUSIONS

The bypass/combined approach to MM appears to have a favorable risk profile and preventive effectiveness, particularly on TIAs and ischemic stroke.

An unusual case of meningitis

We report on a patient who presented at our hospital with fever, headache, neck pain, partial nuchal rigidity and decreased vision of the left eye. The clinical history, biochemical and instrumental exams performed suggested meningitis but the final hypothesis achieved was an unusual case of Neuro-Behcet-Disease (NBD) without orogenital ulcerations at presentation and with normal MRI findings, whose course was complicated by fatal cerebral venous sinus thrombosis and intracranial haemorrhage. The post-mortem results confirmed the diagnosis. This is a rare case confirmed by anatomo-pathological findings where NBD can present itself as an acute meningeal syndrome that mimics central nervous system infections, making diagnosis difficult and delaying treatment.

Decompressive surgery in malignant dural sinus thrombosis: report of 3 cases and review of the literature

Cerebral venous and dural sinus thrombosis (CVDST) is a rare cause of stroke in young and middle-aged adults. When the clinical course is complicated by uncontrollable intracranial hypertension and brainstem compression due to edema or cerebral hemorrhage, the prognosis is poor. The authors evaluated the therapeutic role of surgical decompression in patients with clinical signs of impending herniation. Cerebral venous and dural sinus thrombosis complicated by impending brain herniation a very rare, life-threatening but potentially treatable clinical condition.

Three patients with pupillary signs of transtentorial herniation due to brain edema and hemorrhage caused by CVDST (superior sagittal sinus in 1 patient and transverse and sigmoid sinus in 2 patients) were treated surgically. The intervention consisted of clot removal, infarcted tissue resection, and frontotemporoparietooccipital craniectomy with duraplasty. According to the Glasgow Outcome Scale, 2 patients were classified as having good recovery and 1, moderate disability. The results of neuropsychological assessment were normal in 2 patients and demonstrated a partial neuropsychological deficit (neglect) in the other.

Surgery may be indicated in selected patients with CVDST whose condition is deteriorating because of intractable intracranial hypertension and impending brain herniation.

The use of desflurane or propofol in combination with remifentanil in myasthenic patients undergoing a video-assisted thoracoscopic-extended thymectomy

BACKGROUND

Although several studies of the use of desflurane in anesthesia have revealed many desirable qualities, there are no data on the use and effects especially on the neuromuscular function of desflurane on myasthenia gravis (MG) patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of either desflurane or propofol, both combined with remifentanil, in patients with MG undergoing a video-assisted thoracoscopic-extended thymectomy (VATET).

METHODS

Thirty-six MG patients who underwent VATET were enrolled. Nineteen patients were anesthetized with remifentanil and propofol infused with a target-controlled infusion plasma model, and 17 patients with desflurane and remifentanil. No muscle relaxant was used. The intubating conditions, hemodynamic and respiratory changes, neuromuscular transmission and post-operative complications were evaluated.

RESULTS

Neuromuscular transmission was significantly decreased in the desflurane group (6.7%, from 3% to 9% during anesthesia P=or<0.05). The intubating conditions were good in all 36 patients and 35 patients were successfully extubated in the operating room. The time-to-awakening, post-operatory pH and base excess were significantly different in the two groups, with a decreasing mean arterial pressure in the group administered with desflurane. No patients required reintubation due to myasthenic or cholinergic crisis, or respiratory failure. No other significant differences between the two groups studied were observed.

CONCLUSION

Our experience indicates that anesthesia with desflurane plus remifentanil in patients with MG could determine a reversible muscle relaxation effect, but with no clinical implication, allowing a faster recovery with no difference in extubation time and post-operative complications in the two groups.

Meta-analysis of APOE genotype and subarachnoid hemorrhage: Clinical outcome and delayed ischemia

BACKGROUND

Emerging evidence suggests that the APOE4 allele may increase the risk of a negative outcome in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), but the results are conflicting. A genetic variable predicting the individual clinical course is currently lacking.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the association between the APOE4 allele and a negative outcome. A secondary objective was to investigate the association between the APOE4 allele and delayed ischemia, a major complication of SAH.

METHODS

We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, CINHAL, LILACS, and www.google.it through March 2006. We hand-searched journals, international conference proceedings, and reference lists of retrieved articles. Individual patient data were requested from the corresponding authors of the original articles. Information on study design, participant characteristics, clinical outcome, delayed ischemia, and confounder distribution were independently abstracted by two investigators.

RESULTS

We included eight observational studies (696 patients for the clinical outcome and 600 for the delayed ischemia analyses). The corresponding authors of all the retrieved publications but one gave their original data. Summary odds ratios (ORs) were calculated by means of the random-effect model. The risk of a negative outcome (OR = 2.558; 95% CI 1.610 to 4.065) and delayed ischemia (OR = 2.044; 95% CI 1.269 to 3.291) were increased in the E4 carriers.

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage, the expression of the E4 allele is associated with a higher risk of a negative outcome and delayed ischemia.

APOE influences vasospasm and cognition of noncomatose patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage

OBJECTIVE

To determine the influence of the APOE genotype on functional and cognitive outcome and on the incidence and prognosis of clinical vasospasm (delayed ischemic neurologic deficit [DIND]) in noncomatose patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

METHODS

The authors reviewed the data of patients admitted for SAH to the Neurosurgical Departments of the San Gerardo Hospital of Monza (January 1996 to December 2001) and the Ospedali Riuniti of Bergamo (January 2002 to September 2003). The authors considered only noncomatose patients and evaluated outcome by means of the Rankin Disability Index and the Mini-Mental State Examination at least 6 months after the SAH.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS

Uni- and multivariate logistic regression.

RESULTS

The authors included 101 patients. They found the epsilon4 allele in 26 patients (25.7%). The presence of the epsilon4 allele negatively affected the overall outcome (functional morbidity or cognitive morbidity, or both) (p = 0.0087) and, particularly, cognitive morbidity (p = 0.0028). Those with an epsilon4 allele had delayed ischemic neurologic deficit DINDs more frequently (p = 0.024) and, in the presence of DIND, they were more likely to show permanent neurologic deficits (p = 0.0051).

CONCLUSIONS

ApoE4 negatively affects cognitive morbidity and delayed ischemic neurologic deficit recovery. The presence of an epsilon4 allele increases the risk of delayed ischemic neurologic deficit.

Treatment of unruptured cerebral aneurysms by embolization with guglielmi detachable coils: case-fatality, morbidity, and effectiveness in preventing bleeding--a systematic review of the literature

OBJECTIVE

Guglielmi detachable coils (GDCs) increasingly are being used to treat unruptured cerebral aneurysms (UCAs). We systematically reviewed the literature to assess the case-fatality and permanent morbidity rates of GDC embolization of UCAs and the postembolization bleeding rate.

METHODS

Through a MEDLINE search of the English, Italian, and French literature from January 1990 through December 2002, we retrieved studies on GDC embolization of aneurysms and extracted data on UCAs. Inclusion criteria were: 1) attempted GDC embolization of at least five consecutive patients with UCAs, 2) reported percentage of at least either case-fatality or permanent morbidity rate or crude data allowing an independent calculation. When data on UCAs could not be characterized with certainty among data on other, different lesions, the study was rejected.

RESULTS

We included 30 studies. One thousand three hundred seventy-nine patients were available for the calculation of the case-fatality rate, 794 for the permanent morbidity rate, and 703 for the bleeding rate. The case-fatality rate was 0.6% (95% confidence interval, 0.2-1%), the permanent morbidity rate was 7% (95% confidence interval, 5.3-8.7%), and the bleeding rate was 0.9% per year (95% confidence interval, 0.41-1.4%). Only incompletely coiled UCAs of 10 mm or more accounted for the bleeding events. Morbidity decreased from 8.6% to 4.5% (P < 0.05) when the midyear of study (average calendar year of treatment) was 1995 or later.

CONCLUSION

GDC embolization of UCAs is relatively safe, and the outcome is progressively improving. Partial embolization of UCAs of 10 mm or more is unlikely to provide an acceptable protection. Most of the source publications suffer from methodological weaknesses. Prospective studies with longer follow-up periods are needed to definitively assess the effectiveness of GDCs on UCAs.