Digital intravascular pressure wave recording during endovascular treatment reveals abnormal shunting flow in vertebral venous fistula of the vertebral artery: illustrative case

Abstract

BACKGROUND An arteriovenous fistula is an abnormal arteriovenous shunt between an artery and a vein, which often leads to venous congestion in the central nervous system. The blood flow near the fistula is different from normal artery flow. A novel method to detect the abnormal shunting flow or pressure near the fistula is needed. OBSERVATIONS A 76-year-old woman presented to the authors’ institute with progressive right upper limb weakness. Right vertebral angiography showed a fistula between the right extracranial vertebral artery (VA) and the right vertebral venous plexus at the C7 level. The patient underwent endovascular treatment for shunt flow reduction. Before the procedure, blood pressures were measured at the proximal VA, distal VA near the fistula, and just at the fistula and drainer using a microcatheter. The blood pressure waveforms were characteristically different in terms of resistance index, half-decay time, and appearance of dicrotic notch. The fistula was embolized with coils and N-butyl cyanoacrylate solution. LESSONS During endovascular treatment, the authors were able to digitally record the vascular pressure waveform from the tip of the microcatheter and succeeded in calculating several parameters that characterize the shunting flow. Furthermore, these parameters could help recognize the abnormal blood flow, allowing a safer endovascular surgery.

Retinal arterial–venous pulse delay: a new specific marker for a carotid–cavernous fistula

“…This valve-less connection exposes ocular structures to hazards from a CCF, and also creates a diagnostic opportunity ( 7 , 8 ). AV fistulas elsewhere introduce changes in pressure and velocity waveforms that can be measured in veins upstream of the connection ( 9 ). Non-invasive imaging of ocular blood flow can be performed through several methods ( 10 , 11 ), with trade-offs between spatial and temporal resolution.…”