Should posterior cerebral artery occlusions be recanalized? Insights from the Trevo Registry.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in patients with acute ischaemic stroke related to isolated and primary posterior cerebral artery (PCA) occlusions amongst the patients enrolled in the multicentre post-market Trevo Registry. METHOD: Amongst the 2008 patients enrolled in the Trevo Registry with acute ischaemic stroke due to large vessel occlusion treated by MT, 22 patients (1.1%) [10 females (45.5%), mean age 66.2 ± 14.3 years (range 28-91)] had a PCA occlusion [17 P1 (77.3%) and five P2 occlusions (22.7%)]. Recanalization after the first Trevo (Stryker, Fremont, CA, USA) pass and at the end of the procedure was rated using the modified Thrombolysis in Cerebral Infarction (mTICI) score. Procedure-related complications (i.e. groin puncture complication, perforation, symptomatic haemorrhage, embolus in a new territory) were also recorded. The modified Rankin Scale at 90 days was assessed. RESULTS: Median National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale at admission was 14 (interquartile range 8-16). Stroke aetiology was cardio-embolic in 68.2% of cases. Half of the patients (11/22) received intravenous tissue plasminogen activator. 54.5% of the patients were treated under general anaesthesia. Reperfusion (i.e. mTICI 2b or 3) after first pass was obtained in 65% of cases. Final mTICI 2b-3 reperfusion was obtained in all cases. Only one (4.5%) procedure-related complication was recorded (puncture site) that resolved after surgery. At 90-day follow-up, modified Rankin Scale 0-2 was obtained in 59% of the patients and 9.1% died within the first 3 months after MT. CONCLUSION: Mechanical thrombectomy for PCA occlusions seems to be safe (<5% procedure-related complications) and effective. Larger repository datasets are needed.

Presurgical Identification of the Central Sulcus Using GE EPI Sequences in Combination with 3D Reconstruction is a Useful and Easy Technique for Functional Identification of the Sensorimotor Cortex.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is a noninvasive neuroimaging technique that enables the visualization of vascular changes originating in the cortex on the execution of a simple motor task. We aimed to assess the usefulness of sensorimotor fMRI using echo-planar imaging (EPI) techniques and assess its clinical usefulness in the identification of the central sulcus. We studied 32 candidates for neurosurgery who had centrally located space-occupying lesions with fMRI using EPI images with blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) gradient-echo (GE) sequences acquired on a 1.5T scanner while patients repeatedly opened and closed their hands. Statistical activation images (t images) corresponding to the movements of the right and left hands were compared using cancellation analysis. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the cranium and brain of each patient showed the relative position of the expansive lesion and of non-damaged cortical tissue. Reproducible and selective functional sensorimotor activation was observed in 32 patients. Validation was carried out by intraoperative mapping in 19 patients. Based on intraoperative confirmation data we assumed that functional MR imaging (fMRI) is a valid method for identifying the motor cortex. Nevertheless, a limitation to our study is that not all the patients received invasive cortical stimulation. It is also relevant to indicate that fMRI and intraoperative procedures coincide in the sulcus identified as the sensorimotor cortex. Neurological examination did not reveal postoperative motor/sensitive deterioration in the remaining patients. fMRI using GE EPI sequences in combination with three-dimensional reconstruction is a useful and easy technique for functional identification of the sensorimotor cortex.

[Carotid revascularisation using angioplasty and stent in 134 consecutive cases in a reference hospital: a risky technique?]. / 134 casos consecutivos de revascularización carotídea mediante angioplastia y stent en un centro de referencia: ¿una técnica de riesgo?

INTRODUCTION: Carotid revascularisation (CR) using angioplasty and stent (ASC) is an effective procedure in the prevention of ischaemic stroke, but with a controversial morbidity and mortality in the different studies conducted in this field. METHODS: The results of the ASCs performed in the Virgen de la Arrixaca University Hospital (Murcia) between January 2006 and April 2009 were analysed (epidemiology, indication, grade of residual stenosis and procedure complications). All patients subjected to ASC were pre-selected and followed up by neurologists, and they followed a strict medical protocol for performing the procedure. All ASCs were performed by a team consisting of two surgeons, an anaesthetist and a nurse. RESULTS: A total of 134 ASC were performed. The mean age of our patients was 72.7 years, with the large majority (75%) being male. The most prevalent diseases were, high blood pressure (81%), smoking (66.4%), and diabetes (38.1%). The most common indications for CR were symptomatic carotid stenosis with a level of stenosis of 75-99%, either in the left (33.6%) or right (32.1%), followed by asymptomatic stenosis combined with risk factors (11.2% in the left side and 10.4% in the right side). A level of stenosis less than 30% was achieved in 132 of the 134 ASC (98.5%). performed. Five patients (3.7%) had complications associated with the procedure, of which four were different clinical presentations of a re-perfusion syndrome and one an asymptomatic thrombosis of the stent. CONCLUSIONS: ASC is a complex technique that must be performed by appropriately trained specialists. The performing a minimum number of procedures per year and an admission protocol controlled by Neurology are essential conditions for a low rate of complications. Under these conditions, the morbidity and mortality of the technique is no higher than that of endarterectomy.

Brain edema after carotid revascularization: benign syndrome or prelude to hemorrhage?

Brain edema (BE) post carotid revascularization (CR) is considered a benign presentation of the hyperperfusion syndrome. Its physiopathology has been related to production of vasogenic edema that tends to progressive spontaneous resolution. Its relation with post-CR hemorrhage remains unclear. Three cases of BE post-CR are described and compared to controls. Clinical evolution, medical management, and plain-CT and perfusion-CT (PCT) results are analysed. Two cases of BE had a benign course, with a progressive resolution of edema and disappearance of neurologic deficits. Effective blood pressure control was achieved in these patients. The third case suffered massive hemorrhage 24h after initial BE and died. This patient reached peak systolic levels of 220 mmHg before conversion to hemorrhage. Plain-CT and PCT findings were similar in the three patients with BE. CT showed signs of hemispheric brain swelling ipsilateral to CR. PCT showed low MTT and high CBF values on the hemisphere ipsilateral to CR compared to the contralateral hemisphere, with symmetric CBV values. Plain-CT and PCT in controls showed no abnormalities. BE post CR can be reversible but may also herald a hemorrhagic complication. A common physiopathology of post-CR BE and hemorrhage is suggested by PCT findings, related to failure of auto-regulation and secondary blood-brain-barrier dysfunction. Spontaneous resolution of BE post-CR should not be routinely expected in clinical practice. Conversion to hemorrhage might be related with deficient blood pressure control and secondary rupture of the already damaged vessel wall.