title: Impact of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty for treatment of cerebral vasospasm on subarachnoid hemorrhage patient outcomes.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) has been introduced for treatment of symptomatic cerebral vasospasm in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). While angiographic improvement is consistently reported, clinical improvement following the procedure varies, and limited data is available regarding overall impact on outcome.
  
  
  METHODS
  The authors performed a retrospective analysis of all hospital admissions with aneurysmal SAH over a 6 year period. The length of stay, discharge outcomes (measured by modified Rankin scale [mRS] at discharge), and 1-year mortality among patients with SAH before (4 year period) and after (2 year period) institution of PTA for cerebral vasospasm were compared. Embolization for intracranial aneurysm was used as a therapeutic option throughout the study duration. The effect of institution of PTA for vasospasm after adjusting for age, clinical severity, and use of aneurysm embolization on both discharge outcomes and 1-year mortality in multivariate analysis was evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 146 patients with aneurysmal SAH were admitted during the study duration. There was no difference between the 89 patients admitted in pre-angioplasty period and 57 patients admitted in post-angioplasty period in regards to age, medical co-morbidities, and admission clinical severity of patients (measured by Hunt and Hess grade and Glasgow coma scale). A total of 18 (32%) patients underwent PTA with or without intra-arterial vasodilator treatment in the second period of the study. There was a non significant decrease in rates of severe disability and death (mRS 5-6) at discharge (45 vs. 33%, P = 0.09) and 1-year mortality (32 vs. 22%, P = 0.26) after introduction of PTA for cerebral vasospasm after adjusting for potential confounders. There was no significant difference between the two time periods in regards to length of stay.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A non significant trend was noted with reduced rate of severe disability and mortality at discharge and 1-year mortality after the introduction of PTA for cerebral vasospasm associated with SAH without increasing the length of hospital stay.
authors.affiliation: Zeenat Qureshi Stroke Research Center, Department of Neurology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA. rakesh10@gmail.com
authors.forename: Rakesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Khatri
authors.forename: Muhammad Zeeshan
authors.initials: MZ
authors.lastname: Memon
authors.forename: Haralabos
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zacharatos
authors.forename: Ather M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Taqui
authors.forename: Mushtaq H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Qureshi
authors.forename: Gabriela
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vazquez
authors.forename: M Fareed K
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Suri
authors.forename: Gustavo J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Ramachandra P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Tummala
authors.forename: Mustapha A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Ezzeddine
authors.forename: Adnan I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Qureshi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017130:Angioplasty; D004621:Embolization, Therapeutic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013345:Subarachnoid Hemorrhage / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D020301:Vasospasm, Intracranial / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D055815:Young Adult