Reasons of bleeding complications and prevention methods in endovascular stenting for intracranial artery stenosis

Objective: To summarize the reasons of bleeding complications and the prevention methods in stenting for intracranial arterial stenosis. Methods: The clinical data of 366 patients underwent stent-assistant angioplasty of intracranial artery stenosis from July 2006 to December 2011 were analyzed retrospectively. Among them, 14 patients with bleeding complications were found. The initial 100 patients were categorized as early stage group and the rest as mature stage group. The reasons of bleeding and the methods for preventing this complication were summarized. Results: The overall incidence of bleeding complication was 3.8% (14/366). In the early stage group and mature stage group,the rates was 10%(10/100) and 1.5% (4/266). Six cases were related to the operational manipulation and 8 cases secondary to hyperperfusion injury. Death was found in 6 patients,severe disability in 3, mild paralysis in 2, and no neurological deficits in 3. Conclusions: The bleeding complications in stent-assisted angioplasty of intracranial artery stenosis have a high disability and mortality. The improvement of operative techniques and the more strict indications decrease the bleeding complications rate effectively. (authors)