Faculty Collaboration Database

Onyx embolization prior to stereotactic radiosurgery for brain arteriovenous malformations: a single-center treatment algorithm. J Neurointerv Surg 2018 Mar;10(3):258-267

Date

07/16/2017

Pubmed ID

28710086

DOI

10.1136/neurintsurg-2017-013084

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85042871011 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   20 Citations

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Embolization before stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain arteriovenous malformations (BAVMs) is controversial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare clinical and radiographic outcomes in patients undergoing pre-SRS embolization with ethylene copolymer (Onyx) with outcomes in patients undergoing SRS alone.

METHODS: Seventy consecutive patients with BAVMs who underwent SRS were retrospectively reviewed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to assess the factors associated with radiographic obliteration and complication.

RESULTS: Forty-one (59%) patients presented without BAVM rupture and 29 (41%) patients presented with rupture. Pre-SRS embolization was used in 20 patients (28.6%; 7 unruptured and 13 ruptured). Twenty-five of 70 (36%) patients sustained a complication from treatment, including 6 (9%) patients with a post-SRS latency period hemorrhage. Ten (14%) patients had persistent neurological deficits after treatment. Functional outcome (as modified Rankin Scale), complication rate, and radiographic obliteration at last follow-up were not significantly different between embolized and non-embolized groups in both unruptured and ruptured BAVMs. For unruptured BAVMs, 3- and 5-year rates of radiographic obliteration were 23% and 73% for non-embolized patients and 20% and 60% for embolized patients, respectively. For ruptured BAVMs, 3- and 5-year rates of radiographic obliteration were 45% and 72% for non-embolized patients and 53% and 82% for embolized patients, respectively.

CONCLUSION: Pre-SRS embolization with Onyx was not associated with worse clinical or radiographic outcomes than SRS treatment without embolization. Pre-SRS embolization has a low complication rate and can safely be used to target high-risk BAVM features in carefully selected patients destined for SRS.

Author List

Nerva JD, Barber J, Levitt MR, Rockhill JK, Hallam DK, Ghodke BV, Sekhar LN, Kim LJ

Author

John D. Nerva MD Assistant Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adult
Algorithms
Brain
Combined Modality Therapy
Dimethyl Sulfoxide
Embolization, Therapeutic
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Humans
Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations
Male
Middle Aged
Multivariate Analysis
Polyvinyls
Radiosurgery
Retrospective Studies
Treatment Outcome