Radiation exposure in the intra-arterial nimodipine therapy of subarachnoid hemorrhage related cerebral vasospasm.

Journal of radiological protection : official journal of the Society for Radiological Protection 2022 Jan 18

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The selective intra-arterial nimodipine application for the treatment of cerebral vasospasm (CVS) in patients after spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (sSAH) is widely employed. The purpose of this study is to examine the radiation exposure and to determine local diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) of intra-arterial nimodipine therapy. In a retrospective study design, DRLs and achievable dose (AD) were assessed for all patients undergoing (I) selective intra-arterial nimodipine application or (II) additional mechanical angioplasty for CVS treatment. Interventional procedures were differentiated according to the type of procedure and the number of probed vessels. Altogether 494 neurointerventional procedures of 121 patients with CVS due to sSAH could be included. The radiation exposure indices were distributed as follows: (I) DRL 74.3 Gy·cm2, AD 59.8 Gy·cm2; (II) DRL 128.3 Gy·cm2, AD 94.5 Gy·cm2. Kruskal-Wallis test confirmed significant dose difference considering the number of probed vessels (p< 0.001). The mean cumulative dose per patient was 254.9 Gy·cm2(interquartile range 88.6-315.6 Gy·cm2). The DRLs of intra-arterial nimodipine therapy are substantially lower compared with DRLs proposed for other therapeutic interventions, such as thrombectomy or aneurysm coiling. However, repeated therapy sessions are often required, bearing the potential risk of a cumulatively higher radiation exposure. © 2022 Society for Radiological Protection. Published on behalf of SRP by IOP Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.

Citation

Marcel Opitz, Sebastian Zensen, Denise Bos, Axel Wetter, Christoph Kleinschnitz, Ellen Uslar, Ramazan Jabbarli, Ulrich Sure, Alexander Radbruch, Yan Li, Nils Dörner, Michael Forsting, Cornelius Deuschl, Nika Guberina. Radiation exposure in the intra-arterial nimodipine therapy of subarachnoid hemorrhage related cerebral vasospasm. Journal of radiological protection : official journal of the Society for Radiological Protection. 2022 Jan 18;42(1)