The Treatment of Brain Arteriovenous Malformation Study (TOBAS): A preliminary inter- and intra-rater agreement study on patient management.

OBJECT: The best management of brain arteriovenous malformation (bAVM) patients remains unknown. Randomized allocation may be more readily accepted when there is uncertainty and disagreement regarding the management of potential participants. In planning for a trial, we aimed to assess variability and agreement among physicians managing bAVM patients. METHODS: A portfolio composed of 35 patients was sent to 47 clinicians of various specialties managing bAVM patients. For each patient, physicians were asked their best management decision (surgery/embolization/radiosurgery/conservative), their confidence level, and whether they would include the patient in a randomized trial comparing conservative and curative management. Seven physicians, who had access to all images of each patient, independently responded twice, to assess inter and intra-rater agreement using kappa statistics. RESULTS: The inter-rater agreement (30 raters, including 16 neuroradiologists) for best management decision was only "fair" (κ [95%CI]=0.210[0.157; 0.295]). Agreement remained below 'substantial' (κ<.6) between physicians of the same specialty, and when no distinctions were made between various treatments (when responses were dichotomized as conservative versus curative). With access to all images the inter-rater agreement remained fair. The intra-rater agreement reached "substantial" only for the dichotomized decisions. Responding clinicians were willing to include 54.4% of patients (mainly unruptured bAVMs) in a randomized trial. CONCLUSION: There is a lack of agreement among clinicians involved in the management of bAVM patients. In this study a substantial proportion of clinicians were willing to offer randomized allocation of management options to a substantial number of patients.

Promising TMDC-like optical and excitonic properties of the TiBr2 2H monolayer.

The presented simulation protocol provides a solid foundation for exploring two-dimensional materials. Taking the TiBr2 2H monolayer as an example, this material displays promising TMDC-like optical and excitonic properties, making it an excellent candidate for optoelectronic and valleytronic applications. The direct band gap semiconductor (1.19 eV) is both structurally and thermodynamically stable, with spin-orbit coupling effects revealing a broken mirror symmetry in the K and K' valleys of the band structure, as confirmed by opposite values of the Berry curvature. A direct and bright exciton ground state was found, with an exciton binding energy of 0.56 eV. The study also revealed an optical helicity selection rule, suggesting selectivity in the valley excitation by specific circular light polarizations.

Cerebral venous drainage in patients with dural arteriovenous fistulas: correlation with clinical presentation.

OBJECTIVE: Dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) are abnormal, acquired arteriovenous connections within the dural leaflets. Their associated symptoms may be mild or severe and are related to the patient's venous anatomy. With the hypothesis that the patient's venous anatomy determines the development of symptoms, the authors aimed to identify which venous anatomy elements are important in the development of major symptoms in patients with a DAVF. METHODS: A multicenter study was performed based on the retrospective analysis of cerebral angiographies with systematic assessment of brain drainage pathways (including fistula drainage) in patients over 18 years of age with a single DAVF. The patients were divided into two groups: those with minor (group 1, n = 112) and those with major (group 2, n = 89) symptoms. Group 2 was subdivided into two groups: patients with hemorrhage (group 2a, n = 47) and patients with severe nonhemorrhagic symptoms (group 2b, n = 42). RESULTS: The prevalence of stenosis in DAVF venous drainage and the identification of tiny anastomoses between venous territories were significantly higher in group 2 (32.6% and 19.1%, respectively) compared with group 1 (2.68% and 5.36%, respectively). Stenosis of DAVF venous drainage was significantly more frequent in group 2a than in group 2b (51.1% vs 11.9%, p < 0.001). Group 2b patients had increased prevalence of shared use of the cerebral main drainage pathway (85.0% vs 53.2%, p = 0.002), the absence of an alternative route (45.0% vs 17.0%, p = 0.004), and the presence of contrast stagnation (62.5% vs 29.8%, p = 0.002) compared with group 2a patients. In patients with high-grade fistulas, the group with major symptoms had increased prevalence of a single draining direction (31.3% vs 8.33%, p = 0.003), stenosis in the draining vein (35.0% vs 6.25%, p = 0.000), the absence of an alternative pathway for brain drainage (31.3% vs 12.5%, p = 0.017), and the presence of contrast stagnation (48.8% vs 22.9%, p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Major symptoms were observed when normal brain tissue venous drainage was impaired by competition with DAVF (predominance in group 2b) or when DAVF venous drainage had anatomical characteristics that hindered drainage, with consequent venous hypertension on the venous side of the DAVF (predominance in group 2a). The same findings were observed when comparing two groups of patients with high-grade lesions: those with major versus those with minor symptoms.

Endovascular treatment of aneurysms and platinum coil caliber: Study protocol of a randomized, controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Endovascular coil embolization of cerebral aneurysms is an effective treatment for the prevention of aneurysm rebleeding after subarachnoid hemorrhage. It is also often used in unruptured aneurysms, but it is associated with aneurysm remnants and recurrences in up to 20%-33% of patients. We hypothesized that better aneurysm occlusion rates can be achieved with coils of larger caliber. METHODS: The Does Embolization with Larger coils lead to better Treatment of Aneurysms (DELTA) trial is an investigator-initiated, multicenter, prospective, randomized, controlled clinical trial. To test the hypothesis that 15-caliber coiling systems are superior to 10-caliber coils, 564 patients with aneurysms measuring 4-12 mm will be randomized 1:1 to embolization with either 10-caliber coils exclusively (control group) or the highest safely achievable proportion of 15-caliber coils (intervention group). The primary efficacy endpoint of the trial is the occurrence of a major recurrence or a residual aneurysm at one year. A pilot phase of 165 patients will be conducted to verify feasibility of the coiling strategy, compliance to treatment allocation, safety of a 15-caliber platinum coil embolization strategy, recruitment rates, and the capacity to improve packing density. DISCUSSION: The DELTA trial will test the hypothesis that the use of coils of larger caliber can improve angiographic results of endovascular coiling.

Early CT changes in patients admitted for thrombectomy: Intrarater and interrater agreement.

OBJECTIVE: To systematically review the literature and assess agreement on the Alberta Stroke Program Early CT Score (ASPECTS) among clinicians involved in the management of thrombectomy candidates. METHODS: Studies assessing agreement using ASPECTS published from 2000 to 2015 were reviewed. Fifteen raters reviewed and scored the anonymized CT scans of 30 patients recruited in a local thrombectomy trial during 2 independent sessions, in order to study intrarater and interrater agreement. Agreement was measured using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and Fleiss kappa statistics for ASPECTS and dichotomized ASPECTS at various cutoff values. RESULTS: The review yielded 30 articles reporting 40 measures of agreement. Populations, methods, analyses, and results were heterogeneous (slight to excellent agreement), precluding a meta-analysis. When analyzed as a categorical variable, intrarater agreement was slight to moderate (κ = 0.042-0.469); it reached a substantial level (κ > 0.6) in 11/15 raters when the score was dichotomized (0-5 vs 6-10). The interrater ICCs varied between 0.672 and 0.811, but agreement was slight to moderate (κ = 0.129-0.315). Even in the best of cases, when ASPECTS was dichotomized as 0-5 vs 6-10, interrater agreement did not reach a substantial level (κ = 0.561), which translates into at least 5 of 15 raters not giving the same dichotomized verdict in 15% of patients. CONCLUSIONS: In patients considered for thrombectomy, there may be insufficient agreement between clinicians for ASPECTS to be reliably used as a criterion for treatment decisions.