Introduction: The purpose of this study is to report the characteristics and outcomes of pediatric patients with intracranial aneurysms.
Methods: From 1998 to 2005, 25 pediatric patients (aged < or =17 years) with intracranial aneurysm were treated at our institute. Eleven of 25 patients had subarachnoid hemorrhage. In ten patients, the aneurysm was an incidental finding. One patient presented with cranial nerves dysfunction and three with neurological deficits. The locations of the aneurysms were as follows: vertebral artery (VA; n = 9), middle cerebral artery (MCA; n = 5), posterior cerebral artery (PCA; n = 4), basilar artery (BA; n = 2), anterior communicating artery (n = 2), anterior cerebral artery (n = 2), and internal carotid artery (n = 1).
Results: Five patients were treated with selective embolization with coils. Sixteen patients were treated with parent vessel occlusion (PVO). Eight PVOs were performed with balloons and eight were performed with coils. One patient with a VA aneurysm was spontaneously thrombosed 4 days after the initial diagnostic angiogram. In three patients treated with stent alone or stent-assisted coiling, one with BA trunk aneurysm died. One aneurismal recurrence occurred and was retreated. At a mean follow-up duration of 23.5 months, 96% of patients had a Glasgow Outcome Scale score of 4 or 5.
Conclusions: Pediatric intracranial aneurysms occur more commonly in male patients and have a predilection for the VA, PCA, and MCA. PVO is an effective and safe treatment for fusiform aneurysms. Basilar trunk fusiform aneurysms were difficult to treat and were associated with a high mortality rate.