Intraprocedural prediction of hemorrhagic cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome after carotid artery stenting

Hyperperfusion syndrome (HPS) is a rare but severe complication after carotid artery stenting (CAS). Reliable methods for predicting HPS remain to be developed. We aimed to establish a predictive value of hemorrhagic HPS after CAS. Our retrospective study included 136 consecutive patients who had undergone CAS. We determined the cerebral circulation time (CCT) by measuring the interval between the point of maximal opacification of the terminal portion of the internal carotid artery and the cortical vein. We calculated intraprocedural CCT changes (ΔCCT) by subtracting postprocedural CCT values from preprocedural CCT values. The mean ΔCCT was 0.9 ± 0.9 seconds; 3 patients (2.2%) with prolonged ΔCCT (2.7, 5.4, and 5.8 seconds) developed HPS. The cutoff time of 2.7 seconds predicted hemorrhagic HPS retrospectively with 100% sensitivity and 99% specificity. Our findings suggest that post-CAS HPS can be predicted by using the ΔCCT value obtained by intraprocedural digital subtraction angiography. Patients with a ΔCCT >2.7 seconds require careful intensive hemodynamic and neurologic monitoring after CAS.