Mendelow AD

Mitchell P

Vindlacheruvu RR

Objectives: To determine under what circumstances repair of unruptured intracranial aneurysms may be beneficial. Methods: A life expectancy analysis of patients with unruptured aneurysms with and without repair based on prospective data from the International Study of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms (ISUIA). Results: Life years are lost at all ages by repairing anterior circulation aneurysms under 7 mm in diameter in patients with no history of a subarachnoid haemorrhage from another aneurysm ( incidental). For all other aneurysms the number of life years saved by repair is dependent on the patient\u27s age at the time when repair is undertaken. Between 2 and 40 years are saved by repairing aneurysms in patients aged 20 years. These benefits fall to 0 when remaining life expectancy falls below 15 - 35 years, corresponding to the age range of 45 - 70 years. Conclusions: Repair of unruptured aneurysms benefits patients harbouring them by improving life expectancy except in certain circumstances. The exceptions are patients with remaining life expectancy less than 15 - 35 years or aged 45 - 70 ( depending on aneurysm size and location) and patients with aneurysms of the anterior circulation under 7 mm in diameter with no history of a previous subarachnoid haemorrhage. These results are based on the findings of the ISUIA and are dependent on their accuracy

Risk-benefit analysis of the treatment of unruptured intracranial aneurysms

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