When Is Diagnostic Subtraction Angiography Indicated Before Clipping of Unruptured and Ruptured Intracranial...

The goal of this survey is to investigate the indications for preoperative digital subtraction angiography (DSA) before clipping of ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms in an international panel of neurovascular specialists.

An anonymous survey of 23 multiple-choice questions relating to indications for DSA before clipping of an intracranial aneurysm was distributed to the international panel of attendees of the European-Japanese Cerebrovascular Congress (EJCVC), which took place in Milan, Italy on 7-9 June 2018. The survey was collected during the same conference. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.

A total of 93 surveys were distributed, and 67 (72%) completed surveys were returned by responders from 13 different countries. Eighty-five percent of all responders were neurosurgeons. For unruptured and ruptured middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms without life-threatening hematoma, approximately 60% of responders perform surgery without preoperative DSA. For aneurysms in other locations than MCA, microsurgery is done without preoperative DSA in 68% of unruptured and in 73% of ruptured cases. In cases of ruptured MCA or ruptured non-MCA aneurysms with life-threatening hematoma, surgery is performed without DSA in 97% and 96% of patients, respectively. Factors which lead to preoperative DSA being performed were: aneurysmal shape (fusiform, dissecting), etiology (infectious), size (>25 mm), possible presence of perforators or efferent vessels arising from the aneurysm, intra-aneurysmal thrombus, previous treatment, location (posterior circulation and paraclinoid aneurysm) and flow-replacement bypass contemplated for final aneurysm treatment. These are all factors that qualify an aneurysm as a complex aneurysm.

There is still a high variability in the surgeons' preoperative workup regarding the indication for DSA before clipping of ruptured and unruptured intracranial aneurysms, except for ruptured aneurysms with life-threatening hematoma. There is a general consensus among cerebrovascular specialists that any angioanatomical feature indicating a complex aneurysm should lead to a more detailed workup including preoperative DSA.