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Calcifications associated with pediatric intracranial arterial aneurysms: incidence and correlation with pathogenetic

K O'Brien1, J Leach, B Jones

  • 1University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA. kobrien9@alumni.nd.edu

Child'S Nervous System : Chns : Official Journal of the International Society for Pediatric Neurosurgery
|December 6, 2012
PubMed

Insights

Calcifications in pediatric intracranial arterial aneurysms (IAA) are linked to non-hemodynamic risk factors like arteriopathy and infection, larger size, and non-ruptured status. Parent artery calcifications were not observed in this pediatric IAA study.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroradiology
  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Vascular Imaging

Background:

  • Calcifications in pediatric intracranial arterial aneurysms (IAA) are not well understood.
  • This study aims to characterize these calcifications based on aneurysm subtypes.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To characterize calcifications in pediatric intracranial arterial aneurysms (IAA).
  • To correlate calcifications with aneurysm pathogenetic subtype and clinical features.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective review of CT studies for pediatric IAA patients (<20 years).
  • Independent review by three neuroradiologists for parent artery or aneurysmal calcification (ANC).
  • Correlation of ANC with patient and aneurysm characteristics (subtype, size, morphology, rupture, location).

Main Results:

  • No parent artery calcifications were found in 33 patients with 43 pediatric IAA.
  • Nine (20.9%) of the pediatric IAAs showed calcification.
  • Calcified IAAs were more common in children with non-hemodynamic risk factors (arteriopathy, infection, trauma, tumor) (p=0.029) and those ≥10 mm (p=0.03).
  • Ruptured IAAs were less likely to be calcified (p=0.03).

Conclusions:

  • Aneurysmal calcifications (ANC), but not parent artery calcifications, are present in a minority of pediatric IAAs.
  • Pediatric ANCs are associated with non-hemodynamic vascular risk factors, larger size (≥10 mm), and non-hemorrhagic presentation.
Abstract

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