Detection of ischemia in endovascular therapy of cerebral aneurysms: a perspective in the era of neurophysiological monitoring

A prospective study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of neurophysiological monitoring (NPM) techniques in the detection of ischemic changes that may be seen during endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms. Sixty three patients underwent NPM during first-stage endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms. The endovascular procedures included coil embolization (26 patients), balloon-remodeling coiling (16 patients), stent-assisted coiling (ten patients), balloon-stent-assisted coiling (nine patients), and balloon test occlusion (two patients). NPM included electroencephalography, somatosensory evoked potentials, and brain stem auditory evoked potentials, depending on the location of the aneurysm and its associated vascular territory. NPM changes were seen in three patients (4.8%), and the procedures were altered immediately. No neurological changes were found postendovascularly. Ten patients demonstrated abnormal angiographic findings without concurrent NPM changes, of which five patients developed visual disturbance or hemiparesis. It is concluded that NPM is a valuable monitoring tool for endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms.