Hemorrhagic complications after endovascular therapy for atherosclerotic intracranial arterial stenoses.

OBJECTIVE: Hemorrhagic complications were analyzed in 106 procedures of 99 patients treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) or stenting for intracranial arterial stenoses.

METHODS: Ninety-nine patients with intracranial arterial stenosis were treated with PTA or stenting 106 times from January 1995 to December 2003. Fifty-seven patients had intracranial internal carotid artery stenosis, 23 had middle cerebral artery stenosis, and 19 had vertebrobasilar stenosis. Evaluation of hemodynamic compromise via single-photon emission computed tomography was performed 50 times for 50 patients before the treatment.

RESULTS: Four hemorrhagic complications occurred in 106 procedures. Two of these cases involved intracerebral hemorrhage after PTA or stenting in the treated vascular territory 30 minutes and 16 hours after the treatment, respectively. One case showed subarachnoid hemorrhage, which appeared 6 hours after treatment. Hemodynamic compromise was found on single-photon emission computed tomography in these three cases. The last case with a hemorrhagic complication was a hemorrhagic infarction after recanalization of stent thrombosis, which appeared 3 days after stenting. Hyperperfusion syndrome was strongly suggested as the cause of hemorrhage in the two cases associated with intracerebral hemorrhage.

CONCLUSION: The rate of hemorrhagic complication directly related to the procedure of PTA or stenting was 3%, and hyperperfusion syndrome was suggested as the cause of hemorrhage in two cases (2%), from the perspective of clinical characteristics and single-photon emission computed tomographic findings.