Effect of endovascular treatment on headaches in patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms.
BACKGROUND
Patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms often present with headaches.


OBJECTIVE
To determine the effect of endovascular treatment on the character and frequency of headaches in patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms.


METHODS
We reviewed the medical records of all patients who underwent endovascular treatment for unruptured intracranial aneurysms within a 9.5-year period. These patients were mailed a standard questionnaire in which they were asked about the frequency and character of any headache experienced before or after (or both) endovascular treatment. They were also asked to grade improvement or worsening of headaches after the procedure as mild (activities of daily living were not affected), moderate (activities of daily living were affected), or significant (the change resulted in an ability to perform new activities of daily living or an inability to perform previous activities of daily living).


RESULTS
Forty-seven patients with unruptured aneurysms who underwent Guglielmi detachable coil embolization responded to the questionnaire. Of these, 32 patients (mean age, 52.7 years [SD, 13.4]; 22 were women) had experienced headaches before the procedure. Nineteen patients (59%) reported improvement in severity of headaches after embolization. Improvement was graded as significant by 7 patients, moderate by 8, and mild by 4. Two patients (6%) reported worsening severity of headaches graded as moderate. Five of 15 patients without headaches before embolization reported onset of mild (n = 4) or severe (n = 1) headaches after treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Guglielmi detachable coil embolization of unruptured intracranial aneurysms was associated with reduction in severity of headaches in the majority of patients who had experienced preprocedural headaches.
Qureshi
Adnan I
AI
Department of Neurosurgery and Toshiba Stroke Research Center, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, USA.
Suri
M Fareed K
MF
Kim
Stanley H
SH
Olson
Karen
K
Siddiqui
Amir M
AM
Yahia
Abutaher M
AM
Guterman
Lee R
LR
Hopkins
L Nelson
LN
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D002532:Intracranial Aneurysm / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome