Kaiz Asif

Stenting and Angioplasty for Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension: A Case Series with Clinical, Angiographic, Ophthalmological, Complication, and Pressure Reporting

Previous studies have demonstrated that cerebral dural sinus stenosis (DSS) may be a potential patho‐physiological cause of idiopathic intracranial hypertension (IIH). Endovascular therapy for DSS is emerging as a potential alternative to treat IIH. Here, we present the results of our case series.

Identifying delays to mechanical thrombectomy for acute stroke: onset to door and door to clot times

Outcomes from endovascular therapy for acute stroke are time dependent. Delays in the administration of this therapy have not been extensively studied and no performance benchmarks have been established. There are limited data on the complex factors that can affect these delays. In this review, we discuss the existing literature on the delays involved in endovascular therapy and have presented them as prehospital and inhospital factors. Some of these factors are common to intravenous thrombolysis; in addition, there are some that are unique to endovascular therapy. These include the awareness of the first responders, emergency medical services, interhospital transfer and triage systems, activation of the endovascular team, complex imaging decisions, and intraprocedural delays. A thorough understanding of these delays can help identify areas of improvement which may affect clinical outcomes.

Endovascular reconstruction for progressively worsening carotid artery dissection

Background Carotid artery dissection is an important cause of stroke in young patients. Selection criteria for endovascular repair have not been well defined and limited data exist on long-term outcomes of stent reconstruction. Objective To report the immediate and long-term clinical and radiographic outcomes of patients treated with stent placement for progressively worsening symptomatic carotid arterial dissection despite antithrombotic therapy. Methods A single institution neuro-endovascular database was accessed to identify consecutive cases in which carotid artery dissection was treated with endovascular repair between 2006 and 2012. Clinical, demographic, radiographic, and procedural data were obtained through chart review. Results A total of 22 patients were identified and included 27 carotid artery dissection repairs with stent implantation. The mean age was 43 years (±8.7) with 13 patients being women. Traumatic dissections were seen in 9 (40.9%) patients and spontaneous dissections in 13 (59.1%) patients. All patients were symptomatic and were started on antithrombotic therapy on diagnosis. Most common indications for treatment included recurrent ischemia despite antithrombotic therapy in 15 (55.5%) arteries and enlarging dissecting aneurysm in 4 (14.8%) arteries. Mean degree of stenosis was 79.1%. Mean number of stents used was 1.88 (range 1–4). There was 1 (4.5%) asymptomatic peri-procedural thromboembolic event. Median clinical follow-up was 14 months (range 3–40) and median imaging follow-up was 14 months (range 3–38). There was 1 (4.5%) case of recurrent transient ischemic attack. There was no death, significant restenosis or stroke in the territory of the treated vessel during the duration of the follow-up. Conclusions Endovascular stent reconstruction for the treatment of selected patients with progressively worsening carotid dissection despite medical management is feasible with acceptable immediate and long-term clinical and radiographic outcomes. To be able to draw more robust conclusions, further evaluation with larger number of patients and longer follow-up is needed.

Middle Cerebral Artery Aneurysm Endovascular and Surgical Therapies: Comprehensive Literature Review and Local Experience

The middle cerebral artery is a common location for cerebral aneurysms and is associated with a lower risk of rupture than aneurysms located in the anterior or posterior communicating arteries. No evidence supports the superiority of clipping over coiling to treat middle cerebral artery aneurysm (MCAA) or vice versa. The feasibility of treating the MCAA with endovascular therapy as the first choice of treatment in cohorts of nonselected aneurysms exceeds 90%. A randomized clinical trial comparing the 2 approaches in nonselected cases with long-term follow-up will shed light on which patients may benefit from one approach over another.

Endovascular Management of Intracranial Atherosclerosis

Intracranial atherosclerotic disease (ICAD) represents one of the most common causes of ischemic stroke worldwide, yet our understanding remains limited regarding the best treatment options for this complex disease with a high recurrence rate of stroke. Although medical therapy has proved to be effective in lowering the risk of stroke, certain high-risk ICAD patients may derive benefit from endovascular therapy. This review presents the current treatment options for the endovascular management of ICAD and highlights the recent relevant literature.

Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformation Diagnosis and Management

Arteriovenous malformations of the brain can carry considerable morbidity and mortality in the setting of rupture. The complex angioarchitecture and hemodynamic alteration requires careful consideration in diagnostic and management approaches. In this review, the authors define the pathophysiology, outline diagnostic methods, and highlight current management approaches.

Consecutive Endovascular Treatment of 20 Ruptured Very Small (<3 mm) Anterior Communicating Artery Aneurysms.

Background: Small aneurysms located at the anterior communicating artery carry significant procedural challenges due to a complex anatomy. Recent advances in endovascular technologies have expanded the use of coil embolization for small aneurysm treatment. However, limited reports describe their safety and efficacy profiles in very small anterior communicating artery aneurysms. Objective: We sought to review and report the immediate and long-term clinical as well as radiographic outcomes of consecutive patients with ruptured very small anterior communicating artery aneurysms treated with current endovascular coil embolization techniques. Methods: A prospectively maintained single-institution neuroendovascular database was accessed to identify consecutive cases of very small (<3 mm) ruptured anterior communicating artery aneurysms treated endovascularly between 2006 and 2013. Results: A total of 20 patients with ruptured very small (<3 mm) anterior communicating artery aneurysms were consecutively treated with coil embolization. The average maximum diameter was 2.66 ± 0.41 mm. Complete aneurysm occlusion was achieved for 17 (85%) aneurysms and near-complete aneurysm occlusion for 3 (15%) aneurysms. Intraoperative perforation was seen in 2 (10%) patients without any clinical worsening or need for an external ventricular drain. A thromboembolic event occurred in 1 (5 %) patient without clinical worsening or radiologic infarct. Median clinical follow-up was 12 (±14.1) months and median imaging follow-up was 12 (±18.4) months. Conclusion: This report describes the largest series of consecutive endovascular treatments of ruptured very small anterior communicating artery aneurysms. These findings suggest that coil embolization of very small aneurysms in this location can be performed with acceptable rates of complications and recanalization.

E-011 TICI Quantified: Automated Cerebral Revascularization Grading in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Introduction Cerebral angiographic revascularization grading is the primary method for measuring the angiographic success of acute ischemic stroke (AIS) endovascular therapy and is one of the strongest predictors for clinical outcome. Of the many reported scales, the modified Treatment in Cerebral Ischemia (mTICI) scale is the preferred grading scale for assessment of revascularization. Currently, mTICI grading is based on visual crude estimations by the operator, which may introduce error and bias in to the evaluation. Here, we present an update on our on-going study to automatize mTICI and provide a more accurate and precise grading tool: Quantified TICI (qTICI). Methods Phase one of the project is to develop a database of 15–30 patients with an aplastic/hypoplastic anterior cerebral artery (ACA) in order to establish the standard average and predicted 100% qTICI for the isolated middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory. To map the MCA territory, a retrospective review of patients between the ages of 18–85 was performed from our Digital Subtraction Angiography (DSA) database at the Medical College of Wisconsin. All consecutive cases with aplastic/hypoplastic ACA (to minimise contaminating blood flow from the ACA territory) are included in this study. Existing Siemens software is currently in use to estimate the territory of normal capillary blush and establish normal blood flow values in this database. Results We have identified 19 consecutive patients with aplastic/hypoplastic ACA between the ages of 18–85, from our DSA database of over 3000 cases. Nine patients had aplastic A1 and 10 had hypoplastic A1 segments of the ACA. Once normal capillary blush of the MCA territory has been established and automatized, we will use those normalised values per age to compare the capillary blush and blood flow of the pathological cases- a cohort of 20–25 patients who have stroke secondary to MCA occlusion. Values of qTICI will be compared and validated using standard visual estimation of mTICI. Clinical correlation of qTICI with outcome will also be performed. The goal is to establish software that will accurately grade mTICI on a continuous scale rather than using the current crude visual estimation with wide range 4 strata, which will eliminate the operator dependent bias and increase the precision and accuracy of the revascularization grading. Conclusion The qTICI Grading Software once developed will have the potential to revolutionise the way clinicians and interventionalists grade revascularization post AIS endovascular therapy. The clinical implications of establishing automatized and quantified revascularization scale is critical in improving treatment safety and efficacy. Disclosures A. Sattar: None. K. Asif: None. M. Teleb: None. A. Castonguay: None. M. Issa: None. O. Zaidat: None.

E-069 Validation of a New Modified Capillary Index Score Angiographic Real Time Assessment of Dead vs Salvable Tissue

Background The original capillary index score publication only included patients that had full digital subtraction angiograms (DSA) before stroke intervention. This CIS was a single center publication with no external validation. Many centers do not perform a full DSA to assess all collaterals before intervention. Hypothesis A modified capillary index score (mCIS) using only the ICA injection can predict outcome in MCA occlusions (only MCA occlusions included). Objective Validate the utility and use of a modified capillary index score (mCIS) to assess outcomes and improvement in acute stroke patients. Methods mCIS was assessed on all consecutive patients with an MCA occlusion with complete database information. NIHSS, recanalization (mTICI), and mRS before and after treatment were assessed. mCIS of 2–3 was considered favorable as per original publication. Correlation between favorable CIS, NIHSS improvement, and mRS (0–3 good) were assessed. Results 33 patients with MCA occlusion with complete data sets where assessed. 63.6% (21/33) had a favorable mCIS (2–3) and 36.4% had a poor mCIS(0–1). Recanalization of TICI 2b or greater was achieved in 42.9% (9/21) of patients with favorable mCIS and 58.3% (7/12) of patients with poor mCIS. Of those with favorable mCIS 28.6% (6/21) had a good mRS of ≤3 at discharge vs those with poor mCIS while those with a poor mCIS 33.3% had a good mRS at discharge. However, mortality was lower in favorable mCIS vs. poor mCIS (9.5 vs. 33.35, p = 0.09). Conclusions A modified CIS is did not predict the functional outcome but may be predictor of mortality. Small sample size, lack of long-term follow up, or the lower rate of recanalization of those with favorable mCIS could have contributed to the negative outcome. A prospective or larger study with long term follow up is needed for validation. References Al-Ali F, Jefferson A, Barrow T, et al. The capillary index score: rethinking the acute ischemic stroke treatment algorithm. Results from the Borgess Medical Center Acute Ischemic Stroke Registry. J Neurointerv Surg. 2013;5(2):139–143. doi:10.1136/neurintsurg-2011-010146 Capillary Index Score, Baseline Characteristics and Outcomes Favorable mCIS Unfavorable mCIS P Value Baseline NIHSS 14 + /-6.9 18.3 + /-3.9 0.051 Age 64.3 + /-16.6 68.8 + /-4.9 0.453 Good Recanalization (2b-3) 42.9% (9/21) 58.3% (7/12) 0.391 NIHSS at Discharge 10.8 + /-7.5 15 + /-2.5 0.099 NIHSS at Discharge in TICI 2b and higher 5.8 + /-4.2 13.4 + /-13.7 0.067 Mortality 2/21 (9.5%) 4/12 (33.33%) 0.093 Good Outcome (mRS < = 3) 28.6% (6/21) 33.33% (4/12) 0.775 Good Outcome in TICI2b or higher 12 mRS < = 3) 5/9 (55.6%) 4/7 (57.1%) 0.0949 Disclosures M. Teleb: None. M. Noufal: None. A. Sattar: None. W. Wazni: None. M. Issa: None. K. Asif: None. A. Gheith: None. A. Castonguay: None. O. Zaidat: 2; C; Penumbra, Stryker, Covidie. 3; C; Penumbra, Stryker, Covidien.