Long-term angiographic outcome of stent-assisted coiling compared to non-assisted coiling of intracranial saccular aneurysms.

Aim: To compare angiographic result at long-term follow-up, and rates of progressive occlusion, recurrence, and retreatment of stent-assisted coiled (SAC) and non-assisted coiled (NAC) intracranial saccular aneurysms.

Methods: Retrospective evaluation of department records identified 260 patients with 283 saccular intracranial aneurysms who had long-term angiographic follow-up (more than 12 months) and were successfully treated with SAC (89 aneurysms) or NAC (194 aneurysms) at the University Hospital Center Zagreb from June 2005 to July 2012. Initial and control angiographic results in both groups were graded using Roy/Raymond scale, converted to descriptive terms, and the differences between them were evaluated for statistical significance. A multivariate analysis was performed to identify factors related to progression of aneurysm occlusion and recurrence at follow-up, and those related to aneurysm retreatment.

Results: There were more progressively occluded aneurysms in SAC group (38 of 89 aneurysms, 42.7%) than in NAC group (46 of 194, 23.7%) (P=0.002), but there were no significant differences in the rates of recanalization, regrowth, and stable result. Multivariate logistic regression identified the use of stent as the most important factor associated with progressive occlusion (P=0.015, odds ratio 2.22, 95% confidence interval 1.17-4.21), and large aneurysm size and posterior circulation location as most predictive of aneurysm recurrence and retreatment.

Conclusion: The use of stent is associated with delayed occlusion of initially incompletely coiled aneurysms during follow-up, but does not reduce the rate of recurrence and retreatment compared to coiling alone. Long-term angiographic follow-up is needed for both SAC and NAC aneurysms.