We present the first case of a coccidioidomycosis mycotic anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) aneurysm that was clipped under hypothermic cardiac standstill in a pregnant acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patient. A 24-year-old pregnant AIDS patient presented with intraventricular hemorrhage and hydrocephalus. Angiography revealed an 8-mm basilar trunk aneurysm with the right AICA protruding from the side wall of the aneurysm. The patient underwent a retrosigmoid craniotomy and direct clipping of the aneurysm under hypothermic cardiac standstill. At presentation, the patient had a poor grade due to subarachnoid and intraventricular hemorrhage. Despite her large posterior circulation aneurysm in the setting of AIDS with extensive coccidioidomycosis meningitis, the lesion was clipped successfully. To do so required the full range of neurosurgical repertoire, including a skull base approach and hypothermic cardiac standstill.

ABSTRACT

The objective is to correlate the intracavernous internal carotid artery (ICA) with the position of the intracavernous neural structures. The cavernous sinuses of nine injected cadaveric heads were dissected bilaterally. As measured on computed tomographic angiograms from 100 adults, anatomical relationships and measurements of intracavernous ICA and neural structures were studied and correlated to the intracavernous ICA curvature. Intracavernous ICAs were classified as normal and redundant. The meningohypophyseal trunk (MHT) of normal ICAs appeared to be closely related to the abducens nerve compared with redundant ICAs (5.5 ± 2.1 mm versus 10.0 ± 2.5 mm, respectively; p = 0.001). The position of the inferolateral trunk (ILT) varied along the horizontal segment of the intracavernous ICA. On imaging studies the ICA curvature correlated with the kyphotic degree of the skull and similarity of the ICA curvature between sides. The safety margin for preventing iatrogenic intracavernous nerve injury during surgical exploration or transarterial embolization of vascular lesions around the MHT is high with redundant ICAs. In contrast, a transvenous endovascular approach via the inferior petrosal sinus may be too distant to reach the MHT when ICAs are redundant. Approaching lesions of the inferolateral trunk may be the same regardless of ICA type.

Background

Atherosclerotic intracranial arterial stenosis is an important cause of stroke that is increasingly being treated with percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting (PTAS) to prevent recurrent stroke. However, PTAS has not been compared with medical management in a randomized trial.

Methods

We randomly assigned patients who had a recent transient ischemic attack or stroke attributed to stenosis of 70 to 99% of the diameter of a major intracranial artery to aggressive medical management alone or aggressive medical management plus PTAS with the use of the Wingspan stent system. The primary end point was stroke or death within 30 days after enrollment or after a revascularization procedure for the qualifying lesion during the follow-up period or stroke in the territory of the qualifying artery beyond 30 days.

Results

Enrollment was stopped after 451 patients underwent randomization, because the 30-day rate of stroke or death was 14.7% in the PTAS group (nonfatal stroke, 12.5%; fatal stroke, 2.2%) and 5.8% in the medical-management group (nonfatal stroke, 5.3%; non–stroke-related death, 0.4%) (P = 0.002). Beyond 30 days, stroke in the same territory occurred in 13 patients in each group. Currently, the mean duration of follow-up, which is ongoing, is 11.9 months. The probability of the occurrence of a primary end-point event over time differed significantly between the two treatment groups (P = 0.009), with 1-year rates of the primary end point of 20.0% in the PTAS group and 12.2% in the medical-management group.

Conclusions

In patients with intracranial arterial stenosis, aggressive medical management was superior to PTAS with the use of the Wingspan stent system, both because the risk of early stroke after PTAS was high and because the risk of stroke with aggressive medical therapy alone was lower than expected. (Funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and others; SAMMPRIS ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00576693.)