Polycystic kidney disease among 4,436 intracranial aneurysm patients from a defined population.

Objective: To define the association of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) with the characteristics of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) and unruptured intracranial aneurysm (IA) disease.
Methods: We fused data from the Kuopio Intracranial Aneurysm database (n = 4,436 IA patients) and Finnish nationwide registries into a population-based series of 53 IA patients with ADPKD to compare the aneurysm- and patient-specific characteristics of IA disease in ADPKD and in the general IA population, and to identify risks for de novo IA formation.
Results: In total, there were 33 patients with ADPKD with aSAH and 20 patients with ADPKD with unruptured IAs. The median size of ruptured IAs in ADPKD was significantly smaller than in the general population (6.00 vs 8.00 mm) and the proportion of small ruptured IAs was significantly higher (31% vs 18%). Median age at aSAH was 42.8 years, 10 years younger than in the general IA population. Multiple IAs were present in 45% of patients with ADPKD compared to 28% in the general IA population. Cumulative risk of de novo IA formation was 1.3% per patient-year (vs 0.2% in the general IA population). Hazard for de novo aneurysm formation was significantly elevated in patients with ADPKD (Cox regression hazard ratio 7.7, 95% confidence interval 2.8-20; p < 0.0005).
Conclusions: Subarachnoid hemorrhage occurs at younger age and from smaller IAs in patients with ADPKD and risk for de novo IAs is higher than in the general Eastern Finnish population. ADPKD should be considered as an indicator for long-term angiographic follow-up in patients with diagnosed IAs.
(© 2017 American Academy of Neurology.)