Recurrence Rates After Surgical or Endovascular Treatment of Spinal Dural Arteriovenous Fistulas

BACKGROUND:There is an increasing tendency to treat spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (SDAVFs) endovascularly despite the lack of clear evidence favoring embolization over surgery.OBJECTIVE:To compare the initial failure and recurrence rates of primary treatment of SDAVFs by surgery and endovascular techniques.METHODS:A meta-analysis using the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) standard was performed. All the English literature from 2004 onward was evaluated. From each article that compared the 2 treatment modalities, the odds ratio (OR) was calculated. Combined ORs were calculated with Review Manager 5.3 of The Cochrane Collaboration.RESULTS:A total of 35 studies harboring 1112 patients were assessed. Initial definitive fistula occlusion was observed in 588 of 609 surgical patients (96.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 94.8-97.8) vs 363 of 503 endovascularly treated patients (72.2%; 95% CI, 68.1-75.9; P