Prediction of cerebral infarction after bypass surgery in adult moyamoya disease: using pulsatility index on TCD.

BACKGROUND: At present, the most effective treatment for symptomatic moyamoya disease (MMD) is surgery. However, the high incidence of postoperative complications is a serious problem plaguing the surgical treatment of MMD, especially the acute cerebral infarction. Decreased cerebrovascular reserve is an independent risk factor for ischemic infarction, and the pulsatility index (PI) of transcranial Doppler (TCD) is a common intuitive index for evaluating intracranial vascular compliance. However, the relationship between PI and the occurrence of ischemic stroke after operation is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To explore whether the PI in the middle cerebral artery (MCA) could serve as a potential predictor for the occurrence of ischemic infarction after bypass surgery in MMD. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of data from 71 patients who underwent combined revascularization surgery, including superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) anastomosis and encephalo-duro-myo-synangiosis (EDMS). The patients were divided into two groups according to the median of ipsilateral MCA-PI before operation, low PI group (MCA-PI < 0.614) and high PI group (MCA-PI ≥ 0.614). Univariate and multivariate regression analysis were used to explore risk factors affecting the occurrence of postoperative cerebral infarction. RESULTS: Among the 71 patients with moyamoya disease, 11 patients had cerebral infarction within one week after revascularization. Among them, 10 patients' ipsilateral MCA-PI were less than 0.614, and another one's MCA- PI is higher than 0.614. Univariate analysis showed that the lower ipsilateral MCA-PI (0.448 ± 0.109 vs. 0.637 ± 0.124; P = 0.001) and higher Suzuki stage (P = 0.025) were linked to postoperative cerebral infarction. Multivariate analysis revealed that lower ipsilateral MCA-PI was an independent risk factor for predicting postoperative cerebral infarction (adjusted OR = 14.063; 95% CI = 6.265 ~ 37.308; P = 0.009). CONCLUSIONS: A lower PI in the ipsilateral MCA may predict the cerebral infarction after combined revascularization surgery with high specificity. And combined revascularization appears to be safer for the moyamoya patients in early stages.

The efficacy of STA-MCA double anastomosis comparing to single anastomosis in chronic internal carotid artery occlusion patients.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the efficacy of STA-MCA double-anastomosis and single-anastomosis in patients with cerebral hypoperfusion caused by chronic internal carotid artery occlusion(CICAO). METHODS: In this retrospective study, data were collected from 19 patients with CICAO who underwent STA-MCA anastomosis at our hospital between January 2016 and January 2022, and they were divided into single anastomosis group and double anastomosis group according to the surgical method. The study collected general clinical data from both groups, including age, sex, lipid levels, blood pressure, glucose levels, smoking and alcohol consumption. Additionally, pre- and postoperative neurological function, cerebral hemodynamic parameters, and postoperative ischemic events were also recorded. By combining our study findings with the existing literature, a comparative analysis of the efficacy of single- and double-anastomosis in patients with CICAO was conducted. RESULTS: Prior to surgical treatment，there were no statistically significant differences in cerebral hemodynamic parameters, including rob (0.65 ± 0.09 VS. 0.62 ± 0.04), rut (1.73 ± 0.40 VS. 1.99 ± 0.53), and rTMax (2.02 ± 0.49 VS. 1.72 ± 0.46), as well as neurofunctional scores, including modified Rankin Scale (MRS) (2.8 ± 1.03 VS. 2.4 ± 0.88) and National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) (9.1 ± 5.08 VS. 8.3 ± 4.09) between the two groups. After operation, rCBF (single: 0.65 ± 0.09 VS.0.84 ± 0.08, p = 0.007; double: 0.62 ± 0.04 VS.1.08 ± 0.20, p = 0.001) were significantly increased in both groups, but the rMTT (1.99 ± 0.53 VS.1.27 ± 0.42, p = 0.0447) and rTMax (1.72 ± 0.46 VS.1.16 ± 0.16, p = 0.038) showed significant differences postoperatively only in the double-anastomosis group. The MRS (single: 1.8 ± 1.23, double: 1.7 ± 0.9) in both groups and the NIHSS (7.2 ± 5.11) in single-anastomosis group were not improved after surgery, while the NIHSS (8.3 ± 4.09 VS.4.4 ± 3.08, p = 0.037) in double-anastomosis group was improve significantly. In summary, the double-anastomosis group showed better improvement in rCBF and NIHSS scores compared to the single-anastomosis group.(ΔrCBF: 0.19±0.09 VS. 0.45±0.18, p=0.02, ΔNIHSS: 1.9±0.56 VS. 4±1.73, p=0.002). The cases were followed up for 20.3 ± 18.6 months, and there were no ischemic events in either group during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: STA-MCA revascularization can improve CBF in patients with hypoperfusion caused by CICAO, and prevent the reoccurrence of ischemic stroke effectively. Compared with single-anastomosis, double-anastomosis can provide more CBF and improve neurologic dysfunction.