Determinants of staged endovascular and surgical treatment outcome of brain arteriovenous malformations.
OBJECTIVE
Therapy of brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) often requires the combination of different treatment modalities. Independently assessed data on neurologic outcome after multidisciplinary AVM therapy are scarce.


METHODS
The 119 consecutive patients (49% women, mean age 34+/-13 years) with brain AVMs receiving endovascular embolization followed by surgical treatment were analyzed. Neurologic impairment was assessed prospectively by a neurologist using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) before, during, and after completed AVM therapy. The association of demographic, clinical, and morphologic characteristics with new treatment-related neurologic deficits was calculated.


RESULTS
The 119 patients were treated with 240 superselective embolizations (median, 2; range, 1 to 8) using n-butyl cyanoacrylate. Mean follow-up time after surgery was 9.6+/-13.2 months. On the Spetzler-Martin scale, 8% of the AVMs were grade 1, 27% grade 2, 40% grade 3, 22% grade 4, and 3% grade 5. Disabling treatment-related complications (mRS> or =3) occurred in 5% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1% to 9%) of the patients. Nondisabling new deficits were observed in another 42% (95% CI, 33% to 51%). No patient died. Nonhemorrhagic AVM presentation (odds ratio [OR], 5.00; 95% CI, 1.75 to 14.29), deep venous drainage (OR, 3.09; 95% CI, 1.43 to 6.64), AVM location in an eloquent brain region (OR, 2.42; 95% CI, 1.10 to 5.33), and large AVM size (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.09) were independently associated with new treatment-related deficits.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results suggest an increased treatment risk for patients with previously unbled AVMs from combined endovascular and surgical AVM therapy. Additional risk factors for treatment-related neurologic deficits may be large AVM size, deep venous drainage, and AVM location in eloquent brain regions.
Hartmann
Andreas
A
Doris and Stanley Tananbaum Stroke Center, Neurological Institute, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY, USA. ahart@zedat.fu-berlin.de
Mast
Henning
H
Mohr
Jay P
JP
Pile-Spellman
John
J
Connolly
E Sander
ES
Sciacca
Robert R
RR
Khaw
Alexander
A
Stapf
Christian
C
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001927:Brain Diseases; D002015:Bucrylate / Q000494:pharmacology; D002533:Cerebral Angiography; D002543:Cerebral Hemorrhage / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D002538:Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012306:Risk; D012307:Risk Factors; D013997:Time Factors; D014014:Tissue Adhesives / Q000494:pharmacology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D014014:Tissue Adhesives; D002015:Bucrylate