Complications of 469 brain arteriovenous malformations treated with N-butyl cyanoacrylate

Objective To probe into incidence and risk factors of complications of brain arteriovenous malformation (AVM) following N-butyl cyanoacrylate (NBCA) embolization. Methods All clinical data and image findings of 469 brain AVM patients who underwent embolization with NBCA were studied retrospectively. The complications and their relation to their angiographic features were summed up. Results The 469 patients accepted totally 1108 endovascular embolization, each with 1~8 times (average 2.3 times). 11 patients developed treatment-related complications, including 4 hemorrhagic and 7 ischemic complications. Of these 11 cases, 2 died, 1 had vegetative state, 1 mild permanent functional deficit and other 7 temporary neurological deficits. Conclusion The patients of brain AVM treated with NBCA embolization have fewer treatment-related complications, but the ones who have high risk of embolization should be treated with special embolization strategies.