Procedure-related Complication Rate for the Endovascular Treatment of Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage under Local Anesthesia

OBJECTIVE: To report the procedure related complication rate of endovascular treatments (EVTs) performed on patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) under local anesthesia (LA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study enrolled 186 patients who underwent EVT for ruptured aneurysm under LA from January 2009 to December 2013. Procedure-related complications rate and factors associated with it were analyzed depending on the patients' factors, aneurysm factors and physician factors. RESULTS: Among the 186 patients who underwent EVT under LA, the respective rates of thromboembolic complication (TEC) and intraoperative rupture (IOR) were 12.8% (23 cases) and 12.9% (24 cases), respectively. Aneurysm size (≥ 7 mm) was the only risk factor for TEC (p = 0.048). CONCLUSION: Compared to previous result with under general anesthesia (GA), the rate of TEC was similar in patients treated under LA, but the IOR rate was significantly higher. The main reason for increasing IOR is considered as the unexpected patients' motion and in accordance with the unexpected movement of the microinstruments. Therefore, another methods to stabilize the patients or switching from LA to GA may be necessary when performing EVT, to reduce complications.