The Relevance of Intraoperative Clinical and Accelerometric Measurements for Thalamotomy Outcome

Thalamotomy alleviates medication-refractory tremors in patients with movement disorders such as Parkinson’s Disease (PD), Essential tremor (ET), and Holmes tremor (HT). However, limited data are available on tremor intensity during different thalamotomy stages. Also, the predictive value of the intraoperative tremor status for treatment outcomes remains unclear. Therefore, we aimed to quantify tremor status during thalamotomy and postoperatively. Data were gathered between January 2020 and June 2023 during consecutive unilateral thalamotomy procedures in patients with PD (n = 13), ET (n = 8), and HT (n = 3). MDS-UPDRS scores and tri-axial accelerometry data were obtained during rest, postural, and intention tremor tests. Measurements were performed intraoperatively (1) before lesioning-probe insertion, (2) directly after lesioning-probe insertion, (3) during coagulation, (4) directly after coagulation, and (5) 4–6 months post-surgery. Accelerometric data were recorded continuously during the coagulation process. Outcome measures included MDS-UPDRS tremor scores and accelerometric parameters (peak frequency, tremor amplitude, and area under the curve of power (AUCP)). Tremor intensity was assessed for the insertion effect (1–2), during coagulation (3), post-coagulation effect (1–4), and postoperative effect (1–5). Following insertion and coagulation, tremor intensity improved significantly compared to baseline (p < 0.001). The insertion effect clearly correlated with the postoperative effect (ρ = 0.863, p < 0.001). Both tremor amplitude and AUCP declined gradually during coagulation. Peak frequency did not change significantly intraoperatively. In conclusion, the study data show that both the intraoperative insertion effect and the post-coagulation effect are good predictors for thalamotomy outcomes.