International Journal of Advances in Medicine | April-June 2015 | Vol 2 | Issue 2 Page 88
International Journal of Advances in Medicine
Nayak MT et al. Int J Adv Med. 2015 May;2(2):88-93
http://www.ijmedicine.com pISSN 2349-3925 | eISSN 2349-3933
Research Article
Outcome of intracranial aneurysm clipping: analysis of first 35 cases
Madhukar T. Nayak
1
*, Vidyashri Kamath
2
INTRODUCTION
Sub arachnoid hemorrhage due to ruptured intracranial
aneurysm is a major healthcare concern because of its
fatal consequence and also the potential to be fully
treated if acted upon on time. It constitutes 85% of non-
traumatic SAH cases.
1
The incidence of intracranial
aneurysms have been found to be as high as 1% in males
and 2% in females in the UK.
2
Although the incidence of
patients presenting with routine headache, later found to
have ruptured intracranial is very less, strikingly around
10% of patients who were otherwise intact, but had
“severe and worst headache of their life”, on further
workup were found to have a ruptured intracranial
aneurysm.
3
In the recent decades, advances in micro neurosurgical
techniques, clear understanding of 3 dimensional
neurovascular anatomy and availability of tools for
intraoperative evaluation of accuracy of the procedure
(intraoperative indocyanine green angiogram,
microvascular Doppler and conventional intraoperative
angiography) have contributed in making this treatment
modality safer and more favorable. The need for surgical
ABSTRACT
Background: Sub arachnoid hemorrhage due to ruptured intracranial aneurysm is a major healthcare concern because
of its fatal consequence and also the potential to be fully treated if acted upon on time. The need for surgical expertise
and robust perioperative intensive care remains an essential component for a good outcome. This study looks at the
role of different constant and variable factors in the outcome of patients undergoing surgical clipping of aneurysm.
Methods: A retrospective analysis of first 35 cases of spontaneous SAH due to ruptured intracranial aneurysms who
underwent craniotomy and clipping were included in this study. Patients were divided into good outcome and poor
outcome groups based on Modified Rankin scale at 2 weeks and 6 months postoperatively. Other details obtained
included Modified Fisher Grade of SAH, presence or absence of vasospasm, site of aneurysm and size of aneurysm
(largest diameter).
Results: Good outcome modified Rankin score was 74.3% at 2 weeks postop, which increased to 80% at 6 months
postoperatively. Variables which were found to have a statistically significant impact on the postoperative outcome
were Modified Fisher grade, preoperative WFNS grade, duration of temporary clip placement, time of ictus to
surgery, side of the aneurysm [left or right] and presence of hydrocephalus.
Conclusions: Surgical clipping is a safe and time-tested modality for treatment of sub arachnoid hemorrhage due to
ruptured intracranial aneurysms. Elderly age group, higher modified Fisher grades, higher WFNS Grade
preoperatively, larger size of aneurysm, presence of vasospasm and greater duration of temporary clip placement are
factors, which lead to poor outcome in patients with ruptured intracranial aneurysm presenting with sub arachnoid
hemorrhage.
Keywords: Cerebral aneurysm, Sub arachnoid hemorrhage, Overall outcome, Vasospasm, Aneurysm clipping
1
Department of Neurosurgery,
2
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Father Muller Medical College,
Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Received: 23 February 2015
Accepted: 28 February 2015
*Correspondence:
Dr. Madhukar T. Nayak,
E-mail: madhukar1978@gmail.com
Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
DOI: 10.5455/2349-3933.ijam20150501