Ultra-early versus delayed coil treatment for ruptured poor-grade aneurysm

Introduction The timing of definitive aneurysm treatment (coiling or clipping) in poor-grade (Hunt-Hess IV or V) subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) patients has been a controversial topic. The purpose of this retrospective study was to analyse whether ultra-early coiling of ruptured intracranial aneurysms improves the clinical outcomes of poor-grade SAH patients. Methods The records of patients with aneurysmal SAH who were treated with endovascular coiling were retrieved. The patients were classified into two groups: group A (patients coiled within 24 h of SAH) and group B (patients coiled ≥ 24 h after SAH). For each group, the patient demographics, Fisher grade, aneurysm characteristics and clinical outcomes were recorded. Outcomes were measured at 6 months using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). Results Thirty-one patients were coiled within 24 h of SAH (group A), and fourteen patients were coiled ≥24 h after SAH (group B). Groups A and B had similar clinical and angiographic characteristics. The clinical outcomes showed that a total of 58.1 % of the patients (18 of 31) in group A were independent (mRS 0–2) compared with 21.4 % of the patients (3 of 14) in group B ( P = .028). Univariate analysis demonstrated that ultra-early coiling ( P = .028) proved to be an independent predictor of better clinical outcomes (mRS 0–2). Conclusions Ultra-early (<24 h after SAH) coiling of ruptured aneurysms was associated with improved clinical outcomes compared to coiling at ≥24 h in poor-grade SAH patients. Larger, prospective studies are required to adequately assess the outcome differences between these two groups.