Survival and Outcome After Poor-Grade Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Elderly Patients.

Background and Purpose- Whether maximal treatment should be offered to elderly patients suffering from poor-grade aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) is controversial. The survival of patients in this subgroup beyond the usual outcome measurements 6 to 12 months after aSAH is unclear. The purpose of this study is to provide survival and outcome data to support clinicians making decisions on treatment for this subgroup of patients. Methods- We performed a retrospective analysis of the Bernese SAH database for poor-grade (World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies grade IV and V) elderly patients (age ≥60 years) suffering from aSAH admitted to our institution from 2005 to 2017. Patients were divided into 3 age groups (60-69, 70-79, and 80-90 years). Survival analysis was performed to estimate mean survival and hazard ratios for death. Binary logarithmic regression was used to estimate the odds ratio for favorable (modified Rankin Scale score of 0-3) and unfavorable (modified Rankin Scale score of 4-6) outcome. Results- Increasing age was associated with an increasing risk of death after aSAH. The hazard ratio increased by 6% per year of age ( P<0.001; hazard ratio, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.03-1.09) and 76% per decade ( P<0.001; hazard ratio, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.35-2.29). Mean survival was 56.3±8 months (patients aged 60-69 years), 31.6±7.6 months (70-79 years), and 7.6±5.8 months (80-90 years). Unfavorable outcomes 6 to 12 months after aSAH were strongly related to older age. The odds ratio increased by 11% per year of age ( P<0.001; odds ratio, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.05-1.18) and 192% per decade ( P<0.001; odds ratio, 2.92; 95% CI, 1.63-5.26). Conclusions- Risk for death and unfavorable outcome increases markedly with older age in elderly patients with poor-grade aSAH. Despite a high initial mortality, treatment resulted in a reasonable proportion of favorable outcomes up to 79 years of age and only a small number of patients who were moderately or severely disabled 6 to 12 months after aSAH. Mean survival and proportion of favorable outcomes decreased markedly in patients older than 80 years.

Factors associated with clinical and radiological status on admission in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Grading scales yield objective measure of the severity of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage and serve as to guide treatment decisions and for prognostication. The purpose of this cohort study was to determine what factors govern a patient's disease-specific admission scores in a representative Central European cohort. The Swiss Study of Subarachnoid Hemorrhage includes anonymized data from all tertiary referral centers serving subarachnoid hemorrhage patients in Switzerland. The 2009-2014 dataset was used to evaluate the impact of patient and aneurysm characteristics on the patients' status at admission using descriptive and multivariate regression analysis. The primary/co-primary endpoints were the GCS and the WFNS grade. The secondary endpoints were the Fisher grade, the presence of a thick cisternal or ventricular clot, the presence of a new focal neurological deficit or cranial nerve palsy, and the patient's intubation status. In our cohort of 1787 consecutive patients, increasing patient age by 10 years and low pre-ictal functional status (mRS 3-5) were inversely correlated with "high" GCS score (GCS ≥ 13) (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.84-0.97 and OR 0.67, 95% CI 0.31-1.46), "low" WFNS grade (grade VI-V) (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.04-1.20 and OR 1.47, 95% CI 0.66-3.27), and high Fisher grade (grade III-IV) (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.00-1.17 and OR 1.54, 95% CI 0.55-4.32). Other independent predictors for the patients' clinical and radiological condition at admission were the ruptured aneurysms' location and its size. In sum, chronological age and pre-ictal functional status, as well as the ruptured aneurysm's location and size, determine the patients' clinical and radiological condition at admission to the tertiary referral hospital.

Bleeding risk of cerebral cavernous malformations in patients on ß-blocker medication: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVECerebral cavernous malformations (CCMs) are frequently diagnosed vascular malformations of the brain. Although most CCMs are asymptomatic, some can be responsible for intracerebral hemorrhage or seizures. In selected cases, microsurgical resection is the preferred treatment option. Treatment with the unselective ß-blocker propranolol has been presumed to stabilize and eventually lead to CCM size regression in a limited number of published case series; however, the underlying mechanism and evidence for this effect remain unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the risk for CCM-related hemorrhage in patients on long-term ß-blocker medication.METHODSA single-center database containing data on patients harboring CCMs was retrospectively interrogated for a time period of 35 years. The database included information about hemorrhage and antihypertensive medication. Descriptive and survival analyses were performed, focusing on the risk of hemorrhage at presentation and during follow-up (first or subsequent hemorrhage) in patients on long-term ß-blocker medication versus those who were not. Follow-up was censored at the first occurrence of new hemorrhage, surgery, or the last clinical review. For purposes of this analysis, the ß-blocker group was divided into the following main subgroups: any ß-blocker, ß1-selective ß-blocker, and any unselective ß-blocker.RESULTSOf 542 CCMs among 408 patients, 81 (14.9%) were under treatment with any ß-blocker; 65 (12%) received ß1-selective ß-blocker, and 16 (3%) received any unselective ß-blocker. One hundred thirty-six (25.1%) CCMs presented with hemorrhage at diagnosis. None of the ß-blocker groups was associated with a lower risk of hemorrhage at the time of diagnosis in a univariate descriptive analysis (any ß-blocker: p = 0.64, ß1-selective: p = 0.93, any unselective ß-blocker: p = 0.25). Four hundred ninety-six CCMs were followed up after diagnosis and included in the survival analysis, for a total of 1800 lesion-years. Follow-up hemorrhage occurred in 36 (7.3%) CCMs. Neither univariate descriptive nor univariate Cox proportional-hazards regression analysis showed a decreased risk for follow-up hemorrhage under treatment with ß-blocker medication (any ß-blocker: p = 0.70, HR 1.19, 95% CI 0.49-2.90; ß1-selective: p = 0.78, HR 1.15, 95% CI 0.44-3.00; any unselective ß-blocker: p = 0.76, HR 1.37, 95% CI 0.19-10.08). Multivariate Cox proportional-hazards regression analysis including brainstem location, hemorrhage at diagnosis, age, and any ß-blocker treatment showed no reduced risk for follow-up hemorrhage under any ß-blocker treatment (p = 0.53, HR 1.36, 95% CI 0.52-3.56).CONCLUSIONSIn this retrospective cohort study, ß-blocker medication does not seem to be associated with a decreased risk of CCM-related hemorrhage at presentation or during follow-up.

Quantitative magnetic resonance angiography as a potential predictor for cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE Cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome (CHS) is a rare but devastating complication of carotid endarterectomy (CEA). This study sought to determine whether quantitative hemodynamic assessment using MR angiography can stratify CHS risk. METHODS In this prospective trial, patients with internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis were randomly selected for pre- and postoperative quantitative phase-contrast MR angiography (QMRA). Assessment was standardized according to a protocol and included Doppler/duplex sonography, MRI, and/or CT angiography and QMRA of the intra- and extracranial supplying arteries of the brain. Clinical and radiological data were analyzed to identify CHS risk factors. RESULTS Twenty-five of 153 patients who underwent CEA for ICA stenosis were randomly selected for pre- and postoperative QMRA. QMRA data showed a 2.2-fold postoperative increase in blood flow in the operated ICA (p < 0.001) and a 1.3-fold increase in the ipsilateral middle cerebral artery (MCA) (p = 0.01). Four patients had clinically manifested CHS. The mean flow increases in the patients with CHS were significantly higher than in the patients without CHS, both in the ICA and MCA (p < 0.001). Female sex and a low preoperative diastolic blood pressure were the clearest clinical risk factors for CHS, whereas the flow differences and absolute postoperative flow values in the ipsilateral ICA and MCA were identified as potential radiological predictors for CHS. CONCLUSIONS Cerebral blood flow in the ipsilateral ICA and MCA as assessed by QMRA significantly increased after CEA. Higher mean flow differences in ICA and MCA were associated with the development of CHS. QMRA might have the potential to become a noninvasive, operator-independent screening tool for identifying patients at risk for CHS.