Clipping versus Coiling for Ruptured Intracranial Aneurysms: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

BACKGROUND: Hie treatment strategies of ruptured intracranial aneurysms (RIAs) include surgical clipping and endovascular coiling, and the efficacy and safety of clipping versus coiling are yet controversial. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the available randomized controlled trials to determine the optimal treatment method for patients with RIA. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched for randomized controlled trials published up to September 5, 2017. The summary analysis was performed using a random-effects model. The primary outcomes included poor outcome, mortality, and rebleeding, whereas the secondary outcomes included complete occlusion, incomplete occlusion, severe disability, and vegetative state. RESULTS: We identified 5 trials with data collected from 2883 patients. The summary results indicated that surgical clipping in patients was associated with a high incidence of poor outcome (relative risk [RR], 1.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18-1.51; P < 0.001), whereas no significant effect was observed on mortality (RR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.79-1.49; P = 0.608) and rebleeding (RR, 0.65; 95% CI, 0.20-2.06; P = 0.460) compared with endovascular coiling. Furthermore, we noted that surgical clipping significantly increased the incidence of complete occlusion compared with endovascular coiling (RR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.09 1.55; P = 0.004). Conversely, surgical clipping was associated with a low incidence of incomplete occlusion (RR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.45-0.99; P = 0.044). No significant differences were noted between surgical clipping and endovascular coiling with respect to the outcomes of severe disability (RR, 1.39; 95% CI, 0.90-2.16; P = 0.140) and vegetative state (RR, 1.35; 95% CI, 0.84-2.17; P = 0.213). CONCLUSIONS: This meta-analysis provides moderate evidence that surgical clipping has few benefits than endovascular coiling for the treatment of RIA.